Legal Background – Versatile in the Downturn?
It cannot have escaped your notice that there is a lot of negativity surrounding job prospects at the moment. There are many examples of lawyers and and other professonals being given the boot both here in the UK and in the US at the moment – if you need convincing click here or on the redundancy tag at the top. This might not be the end of the world but what are the options for new entrants into the …
It cannot have escaped your notice that there is a lot of negativity surrounding job prospects at the moment. There are many examples of lawyers and and other professonals being given the boot both here in the UK and in the US at the moment – if you need convincing click here or on the redundancy tag at the top. This might not be the end of the world but what are the options for new entrants into the job market (law grads and redundant lawyers alike)?
Firstly, it goes without saying that it will be pretty tough out there. But if necessity is the mother if invention, you might find a way (even if it’s somewhat unusual) – this MBA student should be applauded for his efforts in marketing himself and earning some bread at the same time. He has taken to driving a taxi with a copy of his CV posted in the back. However, invention alone may not be enough.
For the lucky lawyers still working but considering back-up plans, one of the big rallying calls we keep hearing in the UK is that things will work out because if you fail here, you can hop on a plane to Dubai, Abu Dhabi or to Saudi Arabia where work is plentiful. That may be the case but an interesting article in the Gazette points to several reasons why you should rely on this with caution. The article is well worth a read if you are thinking along these lines but one of the chief points is that redundancies have been happening for a while now and you won’t be the first to post your CV east.
So if invention and contingency plans for a life in the sun don’t work out, how will your legal credentials stand you in the non-law world?
An Article in the National Law Journal has shed some light on the issue. Bear in mind it is from a US stance but some of the key points are likely to ring true here as well. (One thing UK students will no doubt be thankful for is that their student debts are dwarfed by our US cousins). The thrust of the article focuses on the specialised nature of law and the difficulties this can cause when one tries to prove their worth outside that field. Don’t worry though, its not all bad; law is still highly regarded and there will always be organisations that can use those skills.
How do you feel about prospects in this downturn?
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December 8, 2008
Don’t worry folks. If you can’t get another law job, you can always do some bar work to sit out the recession; it won’t buy you a BMW but you might not starve or freeze to death either. It seems to me that everyone is trying to drink away the credit crunch – January is going to be an unpleasant hangover.
December 8, 2008
Flexibility will come down to the individual and how they sell their skills at interview. You need to be able to apply those skills to different situations which will require a bit of research into the type of business you are entering. Those skills are mouldable depending on the person and how open minded they are. Any new job will require a degree of training and experience to make a peron fit.
December 8, 2008
Fair comment – this applies even moving between departments in the same firm. Firms will just be more easily able to see how they can utilise those skills.
December 8, 2008
interesting post
December 8, 2008
I agree with 2. If you are prepared to show flexibility of character you can use the skills developed as a lawyer in different fields. If you are very set in your methods and thinking, it may be more difficult.
December 8, 2008
Law is often touted as a great foundation for other things, that’s what I was told before I committed to a law degree. However, I agree with the other posters that if the individual is not able to adapt then law will be like a straight jacket. I would estimate that about half of the law grads I was with at uni went on to do other things.