Law And More

Incoming Law Class Could Be 38,000 - Lowest since 1974

"Law school just isn't the path into the middle class that it once was."  - Alfred Brophy, University of North Carolina law professor, quoted by Jennifer Smith in "Law School Applicant Pool Continues to Shrink," The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2014. Here you can read the coverage (sub. req.)

According to the most recent data from the Law School Admissions Council, law school applicants for this years has plummeted 37% from 2010.  The number of LSAT takers in June 2014 was, at 21,802, the lowest in 14 years. 

Brophy, reports Smith, estimates that the incoming class could number 38,000. That would be the smallest first year class since 1974.

That leaves law professors in a scary state of job insecurity.  Probably for the 2014-2015 academic year, more law schools will be announcing faculty voluntary buyouts and layoffs. 

Lobbying - A Game in Transition Presents Opportunities for Well-connected Lawyers

Old-school lobbying is dying.  That could provide an opening for well-connected lawyers who have deep expertise in one issue such as tech policy or defense. As Byron Tau observes in Politico:

"The biggest [lobbying] firms are facing increasing competition from upstarts, breakaways and boutique lobbying shops ... [Lobbying] has become increasingly crowded with public affairs shops, digital firms and grassroots experts all promising different approaches ..." Here is that Politico coverage of how K Street is losing power and revenue. 

One of those approaches is to have down cold one field. Patton Boggs might have been too much of a generalist. Media report that it is attempting to hire one-issue talent who will operate as a one-man band. 

Politco notes that overall lobbying revenues have been plummeting since 2010. Between 2010 and 2011, they were down $220 million.  Between 2011 and 2012 they declined another $20 million. And between 2012 and 2013, they were down another $8 million.

Where there is a world of pain there can be opportunity for those, as Politico has picked up, with "different approaches."

Lawyers Having Fantasy of Being Golf Instructor - Dick's Laying Off 400

The more stress professionals are under, usually the more time they invest in fantasy about less draining, more satisfying ways of making a living. Being a golf instructor may have been among the magical-thinking careers for lawyers. After all, you deal with sophisticated clients, are outdoors and do enjoy status since you know what they don't. Through giving private lessons you can earn plenty. Maybe, if you're good enough you could become coach to a brandname.

Now that fantasy is blown to bits.

Dick's Sporting Goods, which has been struggling as golf becomes less popular, is laying off 400 PGA Golf instructors. Here is the coverage by Sara Germano in The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)  

As are myriad outplacement agencies serving the legal sector, the PGA of America will be offering counseling to the laid off on how they can reinvent themselves. 

 What's the new fantasy? There are many dream career paths left, with the exception of being a founder of a tech startup that is bought by an established player.

Big Apple Lawyers, Law Students - You Are Based in America's Unhappiest City

New York City's population is at an all-time high: 8.4 million.

There are plenty of factors for that, ranging from high compensation for jobs and contract assignments to the ability to network with movers and shakers. That said, if you are a lawyer or law student based in the Big Apple you are also likely to be unhappy in New York City.

In fact, according to research by the University of British Columbia and Harvard, you are living and working or studying in the unhappiest city in America. They pulled together their data and interpretations in a paper titled "Unhappy Cities." It incorporated material provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here is the coverage by David K. Li in the New York Post. 

If you are searching for a refuge from your unhappy state of affairs, avoid the cities ranking directly after New York in unhappiness. They are, in descending order:

• Pittsburgh
• Louisville
• Milwaukee
• Detroit

Head instead to America's happiest cities. They are, in descending order:

• Richmond, Virginia
• Norfolk, Virginia
• Washington, D.C.
• Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
• Atlanta, Georgia.

Lana Del Rey: Can she sue men she slept with who didn't help with her career?

Here's one for lawyers with special expertise in contract law.  

Singer Lana Del Rey contends that she didn't sleep her way to the top. In the New York Post, Bryan Hood quotes her as saying, "You know, I have slept with a lot of guys in the industry, but none of them helped me get my record deals. Which is annoying." Here you can read the NYP coverage.

Since Del Rey is not a lawyer she may not be able to discern if she and her sex partners had entered into any kind of contract, which then was breached.  Also, she may have evidence of contracts being made and not being aware of it. 

If it turns out contract law had been violated and matters are brought to trial, those on the jury could have the experience of their lives. 

Lankler Siffert & Wohl - Daniel Gitner's Team Can't Get Haircuts During Trials

Daniel Gitner of Lankler Siffert & Wohl is golden. That's because as trial defense attorney for Rengan Rajaratnam he inflicted on the Preet Bharara team their first loss in insider trading prosecution. 

No question, Gitner's approach will be studied and some of it codified as Best Practices. One part of his methodology may or may not make it into a Best Practice.

As Staci Zaretsky explains in Abovethelaw.com, Gitner bans haircuts during trials for not only himself but all those working on the trial with him. Here is that ATL coverage.

Gitner is hardly alone in his belief in voodoo. A recent book captures how baked into daily life is superstition. That's "Kidding Ourselves: The Hidden Power of Self-Deception" by Joseph T. Hallinan. 

The funny thing is that voodoo works its magic even when human beings are aware they are relying on their belief, not a medication or process. For instance, Hallinan cites research documenting that people given placebos and told they were placebos not the medication under development got well. 

Prediction: We will be seeing a lot of too-long hair on lawyers during those kinds of trials which go on for months.  

Reflection: Will Bharara adopt the no-haircut rule?

Likely Not For (Most) JD Students - MBA Straight Students Show Up at Gay Job Recruitment Events

One of the popular articles on Bloomberg Business Week is by Cory Weinberg. It captures the desperation in the current job market: Straight MBA students are finding their way into Gay Job Recruitment events. Here is that coverage. 

Hell, any tactic is worth a try. But for most JD students this particular one likely isn't too promising. Sure, there are jobs available within the gay niche. Some of them might pay well. But not as well as those positions in BigLaw.

Essentially BigLaw remains a monolith. Its ethos is conservative. In return for total conformity to its values and behaviors, it provides newbies excellent training, a superior entry-level salary and high-profile assignments. 

Those JD students not interested in BigLaw might check out any gay job fairs. In my profession of communications, there is a surge of opportunities in the gay niche. Those range from editing Out Magazine to creating fundraising materials. You bet, I apply. So far, no assignments. I don't think not being gay has anything to do with that. As in business and law, in communications there's a glut of talent. 

Bloomberg BNA, Arlington, VA - Full-time Opening for Legal Editor, JD Required

You need expertise in one of more these subject areas: Corporate Compliance, white collar crime and corporate law.  Yes, a JD is mandatory.  You will have to take a test as part of the process.

Here are details and how to apply.

Dan Markel, Leader in Legal Education, Dead of Shotgun Wound

Essentially the police in Tallahassee, Florida are treating the shooting death of Dan Markel, 41, as a homicide.

Friday night neighbors in his Bretton Hills neighborhood heard a loud bang. Inside Markel, a noted legal scholar and law professor at Florida State University, was found with a shotgun wound. He later died at the hospital.

On Abovethelaw.com, managing editor David Lat, who knew Markel, discusses the possible ways the shooting could have happened. Those range from a robbery gone bad to an altercation with the former wife Wendi Adelson.  Despite the divorce, the two still would wind up in court over issues such as child custody and finances.  Here is Lat's coverage.

The University and its law students have lost an outstanding legal mind and dedicated teacher.

The police are looking for leads. You can contact them at 850-891-4462.

JD Class of '14, Jobless Former Associates, Booted Partners - Is Job Hunting in NY, San Jose or Even Bridgeport, CT the Problem?

Yes, the great compensation for jobs and even contract assignments happens in locations like New York and San Jose.  No wonder so many newbie JDs and displaced associates and partners are determined to hang out there and search for work. 

And while you are doing so, you have to pony up the extreme cost of living. At the top of the list for that is the price for keeping a roof over your head.  

In CityLab, Richard Florida (famous for coining the phrase "the creative class") documents how expensive all that is. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis's Regional Price Parities, as interpreted by Jose Lobo of Arizona State, New York, San Jose and even New York bedroom community Bridgeport, Connecticut are outliers in what housing rips from your pocket. Here is the coverage.

On the one hand, there is a school of thought which mandates that you remain in those kinds of locations to have access to opportunity.  But there is also another emerging line of thought. It is that the stress of struggling to make ends meet can impede your selling skills. Desperate, you don't pitch from a position of strength. 

I know. As an experiment I uprooted myself from my base just outside of Bridgeport to try my luck in the less expensive Southwest.

Here in Tucson, Arizona, my housing costs half what it did in CT. My car insurance is also half. Gasoline is about 60-cents less a gallon. An emergency visit to the vet on a Sunday was $80, not the expected $250.

Without the wolf howling at the door, I have been able to approach marketing and sales in a calm manner. No surprise, the results have been awesome. Finally, after two professional catastrophes in the 21st century, I am financially secure again. That hppened in three months. I arrived here on April 14, 2014.

Yes, I am back to selecting my clients.  I no longer can be bullied into accepting peanuts as a fee. Again, I am trusting my gut instead of frantically researching what the "experts" pontificate about running a business.

Of course, I recognize how difficult it is to give up on the shot at the big big money. However, sometimes a bit more than enough money is quite enough.