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Salaries Plunge for Lawyers; Unemployment Still High
Townhall.com ^ | July 8, 2011 | Mike Shedlock

Posted on 07/08/2011 8:24:01 AM PDT by Kaslin

An NALP study finds Law School Class of 2010 Starting Pay Fell 20% as Jobs Eroded

Starting salaries for last year’s U.S. law school graduates plummeted 20 percent as private practice jobs eroded, according to a report by the National Association for Law Placement.

The national median starting salary at law firms dropped to $104,000 from $130,000 in 2009, reflecting a shift in the distribution of jobs and salary adjustments at some firms, the NALP said today. The report cited information submitted by 192 laws schools and covering 93 percent of 2010 graduates.

Aggregate starting salaries fell because graduates found fewer jobs with high-paying large law firms and many more jobs with the smallest firms at lower salaries, Leipold said. More than half of the jobs taken by 2010 graduates were in firms with 50 or fewer attorneys. Jobs at firms with more than 250 attorneys fell to 26 percent from 33 percent in 2009.

The employment rate for 2010 law school graduates was 87.6 percent, down from a high of 91.9 percent for the 2007 class, the NALP said. Part-time jobs accounted for 11 percent and almost 27 percent were reported as temporary jobs, according to the survey.
Law School Graduate Scorecard


The total of those groups is a whopping 50.4%. However, some jobs may be temporary and part-time so the correct total is somewhere between 39.4% and 50.4%, probably towards the high side.

Having a law degree is no guarantee of success. All of those groups will struggle to pay back student debt.

Addendum:

Reader Dave writes ...
Hello Mish

Actually, it's far more grim than it looks.

How many new lawyers took a job at their dad's or mom's small practice? That is very common. How many hang out a shingle and/or start a small law firm with friends or classmates?

From what I've seen, the vast majority who start a practice, close their doors and find a new career in a year or two.

For the rest of us out in the workforce, unemployment remains at recession levels.

The number of initial unemployment claims remains elevated. Here is the table I posted last week.

Initial Unemployment Claims For 2011



We can now tack on another week.

Please consider the 
Department of Labor Weekly Claims Report.

In the week ending July 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 418,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 432,000. The 4-week moving average was 424,750, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of 427,750.



Note that last week was revised from 428,000 to 432,000 accounting for 4,000 of today's reported 14,000 drop.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: aba; lawyers; obamadonors; unemployment
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1 posted on 07/08/2011 8:24:02 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Good news for once. Its a start. Lawyers need to get down to minimum wage.


2 posted on 07/08/2011 8:26:12 AM PDT by George from New England (Escaped CT in 2006, now living north of Tampa)
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To: Kaslin

So there is some good news?


3 posted on 07/08/2011 8:26:54 AM PDT by brownsfan (I miss the America I grew up in.)
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To: Kaslin

Everybody hates lawyers, until they actually need one. Then, it’s “my lawyer is a nice guy.”


4 posted on 07/08/2011 8:28:35 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: George from New England

Most new law grads and most practicioners dont make a lot of money. This date is for the large law firms.

Its fun hating lawyers, but guess what happens when you need one/


5 posted on 07/08/2011 8:30:36 AM PDT by GlockThe Vote (The Obama Adminstration: The flash mob who wonÂ’t leave.)
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To: Kaslin

Q: What do you call 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the sea?
A: A good start


6 posted on 07/08/2011 8:31:37 AM PDT by yantis
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To: Kaslin

I would guess that the VAST majority of these recently graduated lawyers voted for Hussien and the Jackasses. So they are reaping first hand the “change” they voted for.


7 posted on 07/08/2011 8:32:05 AM PDT by TMA62 (Al Sharpton - The North Korea of race relations)
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To: Kaslin
A recycling center might take them.


8 posted on 07/08/2011 8:32:48 AM PDT by DeFault User
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To: 1rudeboy
Everybody hates lawyers, until they actually need one.

You can say the same thing about enemas.

9 posted on 07/08/2011 8:33:02 AM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: GlockThe Vote
Its fun hating lawyers, but guess what happens when you need one/

Just turn over the closest rock.

10 posted on 07/08/2011 8:34:16 AM PDT by Night Hides Not (My dream ticket for 2012 is John Galt & Dagny Taggart!)
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To: dead

You think enemas are nice??!?


11 posted on 07/08/2011 8:34:27 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: dead

one is one, one goes there.


12 posted on 07/08/2011 8:34:58 AM PDT by WOBBLY BOB ( "I don't want the majority if we don't stand for something"- Jim Demint)
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To: Night Hides Not

Yawn. I know many very hard working lawyers who dont make a lot and are more honest than the general personal in buasiness.

Lawyer hate is nonsense. Are there the scumbags who do torts, class action, etc? Yes, they are scum, but most of the profession is not like that.


13 posted on 07/08/2011 8:36:48 AM PDT by GlockThe Vote (The Obama Adminstration: The flash mob who wonÂ’t leave.)
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To: dead

Remember, the enema of my enema is my friend


14 posted on 07/08/2011 8:37:31 AM PDT by almcbean
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To: 1rudeboy
You think enemas are nice??!?

Of course, I never said that. But, like lawyers, sometimes you need one, however unpleasant the experience is going to be.

Unlike lawyers though, people generally don't require enemas solely because of the actions of somebody else's enema!

15 posted on 07/08/2011 8:37:59 AM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: GlockThe Vote

Blame Hollywood for the glut of lawyers.

All you see are countless lawyer dramas where the actors lead glamorous lives with big houses, expensive cars, and lots of nice clothes.

The reality is that law schools have churned out so many mediocre lawyers in the past 10 years, that most will NEVER find employment in the law field.

Meanwhile, medical school’s are facing a net decrease in graduates because who want’s $300,000 in student loans, $200,000 in yearly malpractice bills to protect from lawyers, and terrible hours with low pay?

You are better off these days learning a trade like welding or being an oil field worker.


16 posted on 07/08/2011 8:41:26 AM PDT by WaterBoard
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To: almcbean

LMAO!


17 posted on 07/08/2011 8:41:43 AM PDT by xsmommy
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To: DeFault User
A majority of senior attorneys (63%) report that the litigation environment in a state is likely to impact important business decisions. (State Liability Systems Ranking Survey, Harris Interactive, March 19, 2008)

Fear of litigation is among the top issues listed by senior executives who manage internationally owned U.S. businesses whereas U.S.-owned companies that operate in other advanced economies do not express the a similar concern. (The U.S. Litigation Environment and Foreign Direct Investment, U.S. Department of Commerce, October 29, 2008).

There is the perception that, at least in some contexts, other countries’ legal systems are more predictable and that the legal costs of doing business are substantially less. These perceptions exist even though the overall high quality of the U.S. legal system is also well recognized internationally. (The U.S. Litigation Environment and Foreign Direct Investment, U.S. Department of Commerce, October 29, 2008).

Small businesses bear 69 percent of business tort liability costs but take in only 19 percent of business revenues. (Tort Liability Costs for Small Business, Institute for Legal Reform , May 17, 2007)

The cost of the tort system to individual small businesses is $20 per $1,000 of revenue. In other words, a small company with $1 million in annual revenues will pay, on average, $20,000 in annual tort related costs. (Tort Liability Costs for Small Business, Institute for Legal Reform , May 17, 2007)

Small businesses pay $20 billion of their tort costs out of pocket, as opposed to insurance. (Tort Liability Costs for Small Business, Institute for Legal Reform , May 17, 2007)

Very small businesses, those with less than $1 million in revenues, pay $31 billion in tort liability costs, but take in only 6 percent of business revenues. (Tort Liability Costs for Small Business, Institute for Legal Reform , May 17, 2007)

Small businesses typically spend about $5,000 to settle one legal dispute—about 10 percent of a small business owner’s average salary. (“Use of Lawyers” National Federation of Independent Business National Small Business Poll, Vol. 5, Issue 2, 2005)

In a recent survey from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), liability costs rank second only to healthcare costs as problems facing small businesses. Four years ago, liability costs ranked No. 13 on their problem list. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that U.S. small businesses spend $88 billion per year on litigation costs. (Houston Business Journal, December 18, 2006)

Small businesses are responsible for three-quarters of all new jobs created in the U.S economy. More employee benefits could be provided or jobs created if the average small business didn’t have to spend over $17,000 a year on an out of control lawsuit system. (ILR/NERA Report “Tort Liability Costs for Small Business,” June, 2004)

Lawsuits and liability insurance cost American businesses $128.8 billion each year. An estimated 4.4 million U.S. small businesses pay more than half of those costs but take in only 25 percent of business revenue. Because many small businesses don’t have the money to buy insurance, they are hurt the most by lawsuit abuse. These very small businesses on average pay 44% of tort liability costs out of their own pocket. ((ILR/NERA Report “Tort Liability Costs for Small Business,” June, 2004; Lawsuits costly for U.S. small businesses, Washington Times, June 9, 2004)

Foreign companies are shunning the United States in large part due to the U.S. culture of litigation. European stock markets have now surpassed American stock markets in aggregate market capitalization for the first time since World War I. A recent study conducted by McKinsey and Company identified lawsuit abuse as one of the most crucial problems threatening New York as a financial center. A survey of chief executive officers cited in the study found that fully 85% of chief executives preferred the litigation environment in London to New York. (“Blocking Markets” New York Sun, April 19, 2007; “Litigation Puts Wall Street’s World Status at “Tipping Point” Financial Times, April 6, 2007)

http://www.sickoflawsuits.org/threats/CosttoConsumers.cfm

seems certain lawyers achieved a self-fullfilling prophecy.

18 posted on 07/08/2011 8:45:56 AM PDT by WOBBLY BOB ( "I don't want the majority if we don't stand for something"- Jim Demint)
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To: WaterBoard

The bad part is that lawyers often become politicians, especially if they fail at law...


19 posted on 07/08/2011 8:46:11 AM PDT by GenXteacher (He that hath no stomach for this fight, let him depart!)
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To: dead
Of course, I never said that.

You said, "You can say the same thing about enemas." So let's map this out:

Everybody hates lawyers enemas, until they actually need one. Then, it’s “my lawyer enema is [nice].”

Please do not misunderstand, I got your point. But you said it in an unintentionally funny way.
20 posted on 07/08/2011 8:50:28 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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