Law class of 2013 struggles to find jobs.

The National Law Journal reports that in addition to slow growth in the job market for lawyers generally, 2013 saw the largest graduating class in history enter the market which is also affecting the search for a job.  On the plus side, the median starting salary for 2013 grads, $62,467, was up slightly from the previous year at $61,245.  (The ABA Journal previously reported that the starting, median salary for 2013 grads working in law firms was $95K).  From the National Law Journal:

Market Struggles to Absorb Record Law School Class of '13

 

The good news first: More members of the national law school class of 2013 had found jobs within nine months of graduation than their predecessors did in 2012. That’s according to employment data released Thursday by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP).

 

Now the bad news: Because of its large size—the largest on record, in fact—the percentage of employed 2013 graduates fell slightly compared to the previous year. That marked the sixth straight year that the overall employment rate declined.

 

Among the class of 2013, 84.5 percent of graduates had secured jobs, compared with 84.7 percent the previous year. Their employment rate was 7.4 percentage points lower than the 91.9 percent high reached in 2007.

 
. . . .

 

“In general, the legal sector is best described as mostly flat in the spring of 2014, with overall headcount off by more than 40,000 jobs from its prerecession high, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The entry-level job market reflects that mostly flat business environment for the legal sector generally.”

. . . .

 

Continue reading here.

(jbl).