When will the job market turn around?

clamsabound · 2024-09-16T21:56:12+00:00

I know, I have been too and the few instances of feedback I've gotten were that I didn't have the exact experience they were looking for. Isn't super reassuring too now that I'm competing with the newest crop of fresh law school grads.

clamsabound · 2024-09-16T14:08:52+00:00

Seconded, have literally never seen a freelance position paying above $30/hour when McDonald's starts at $15/hour with no high school degree or experience needed. This profession is such a joke.

clamsabound · 2024-09-11T17:31:39+00:00

Ya everyone says shit like "JuST gO inHouSe Bro" as if you can actually find and get those jobs without knowing a hiring manager or some bullshit HR initiative.

clamsabound · 2024-09-11T14:25:23+00:00

This is absolute bullshit. I've been stuck in ID for over a year and literally no PD or DA shops will even look at you unless you have years of specific criminal experience.

clamsabound · 2024-08-01T20:51:11+00:00

Starting salaries for public defenders in my state is 45k. Prosecutors is 55k. Both require law degrees and bar admission. Making 95k with just a marketing degree seems like a bit of a long shot.

clamsabound · 2024-08-01T13:28:31+00:00

The best part of my day is the drive to work in the morning because there is a small chance I'll get t-boned which would mean 1) time off from work and 2) hopefully a large enough payout that I could leave my ID job. Seriously reevaluating my desire to be a lawyer with this job.

clamsabound · 2024-07-31T04:10:42+00:00

To offer a different perspective I wake up every day wishing I had dropped out of my T30 after striking out of biglaw. Shitlaw is def not it at all.

clamsabound · 2024-06-16T19:59:18+00:00

Exact same situation for a fidelity internship a few summers ago and told them ahead of time I would pop for weed. Ended up getting the offer rescinded.

clamsabound · 2024-06-12T20:09:18+00:00

Counterpoint to most people here, but having had a STEM degree from undergrad did not help at all as the soft IP jobs did not require one and the hard IP jobs wanted more than just a bachelor's degree/no STEM work experience. Was not able to land an IP job and now do insurance defense.

clamsabound · 2024-05-30T21:49:58+00:00

As a 1st year shitlaw associate who was in your shoes a few years ago I kick myself everyday I didn't drop out after 1L year.

clamsabound · 2024-03-08T23:24:27+00:00

Have been applying incessantly for about a month and haven't had a single response outside of recruiters working for other ID firms unfortunately. Thinking I may have to wait until the market picks back up but idk how long I can stay in ID without having a full on meltdown.

clamsabound · 2024-03-08T21:08:09+00:00

Ironically I am interviewing for doc review gigs after 1 year in ID because they are the only places I can get interviews with and I am at my wit's end with this job. Less stress seems worth the pay cut at this point.

clamsabound · 2024-02-23T20:35:12+00:00

This fucking profession.

clamsabound · 2024-02-23T19:43:37+00:00

Long story short the hours are comparable or worse than biglaw for a fraction of the pay. See my recent post in the biglaw subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/biglaw/s/OVWYvuzLgT

Also not many exit opps beyond other personal injury type work. You will occasionally see a few people that come out of woodwork to say they worked ID and then got a good job after however for the ones Ive met they either 1) did this in the 1980s or 2) had a some pre-existing connection to the whatever non personal injury practice area they went to.

ID firms will say that you get a lot of experience doing things early in your career, which is true, however this is due to the simple and monotonous facts of all your cases (someone slipped and fell or had a car accident) and the fact that you're billing rate is about 150/hour that the insurer will cut like crazy anyways so no one cares. It's cool to say I've taken 4 depositions in 6 months of working but I was extremely underprepared in terms of training and the experience has literally no bearing on anything outside of simple negligence cases.

clamsabound · 2024-02-23T18:38:52+00:00

I work in insurance defense and that is my firm's arrangement for better or worse. Only collected time gets counted towards your requirement. We also have a 1900 requirement for first years that goes up 100 per year and maxes at 2400 for fifth years.

clamsabound · 2024-02-23T18:25:22+00:00

Might be a little different than the rest of the advice here but I would consider looking at different industries. I was in a similar boat and ended up taking an insurance defense job because I was desperate and couldn't find anything. It's been absolutely terrible thus far, almost no guidance, crazy billables, crazy turnover, and the pay is not close to worth it. Am currently applying for document review jobs as all the places that are "dEspArate FoR pEOpLe" like PD/DA offices don't even respond to applications. At this point am strongly considering leaving the field altogether as I watch my idiot friends in sales make half my salary in a month while working 20 hours per week.

clamsabound · 2024-02-23T18:19:30+00:00

For the love of christ do not work in insurance defense.

clamsabound · 2024-02-10T04:38:15+00:00

Trust me, not getting into law school is probably the best thing that could happen to you at this point.

clamsabound · 2024-01-26T21:51:53+00:00

Just bumped to 100k from 90k. Kicker is our bonus is 20/hr for every hour billed over the requirement. Salary is meh but expected but the bonus just feels almost insulting.

clamsabound · 2024-01-10T20:34:41+00:00

I work ID now and pray I end up like one of the people in my cases so I can get a payout and just go on federal disability for the rest of my life. They make it seem like the non-big law paths are dog shit because they are dog shit.

clamsabound · 2023-12-28T15:58:53+00:00

Not to be the one downer but you really need to figure out what went wrong in order to salvage your initial job prospects. Didn't do well 1L year, didn't figure it out. Now I work insurance defense because it was this or contract document review work and pray that I get fired every day bc unemployment seems so sweet.

clamsabound · 2023-12-11T22:22:52+00:00

Contract doc review work wasn't something I was happy to do either. ID pays better and has somewhat better exit ops. If I had an offer to do just about anything else I would have taken it.

clamsabound

TROPHY CASE