Posts Tagged ‘jobs’

And so the time has come again …. I’m not getting too terribly down in this post (partially because I learned my lesson from last quarter that it does no good), but I have come to a terrible realization within the past week: my life is over. Well, it might not be over completely, but it certainly will be for the next few months, which is both a discouraging as well as enlightening (or liberating) thought.

This epiphany first came to me over the weekend while working on this quarter’s memo. It’s an open memo, which is significantly different from last quarter’s closed memo: closed meaning the materials were provided and no outside research was needed … open meaning all the research is on us. This is a particularly daunting task for me (or perhaps for everyone here since everyone is pretty F-ing smart) because I sometimes find myself enjoying research. I know, how lame, right? But I try to challenge myself to exhaust my research possibilities, which results in endless hours of reading, shepardizing (not sure if I need to put that little ® sign there or not, haha), and (not so) costly printing … thanks, law school for the free printing. Anyway, once the memo is done, then comes the time to begin outlining again (or maybe I should start before the memo is due). After exams for this quarter are done, I’ll probably begin outlining for our 2-quarter-long classes over spring break, and then finish off the 1L marathon with four exams (two 2-quarter exams, and two 1-quarter exams).

After that, work starts. Since there are only 10 weeks between the end of spring finals and the beginning of UChicago’s new “improved” Fall OCI, I can’t really ask for time off that I might spend working on our journals’ writing competition. So after the busiest and most stressful time of year (spring exams) I can look forward to absolutely no time for relaxation and, instead, working (probably full-time) while also struggling to finish this writing competition assignment as best I can.

Once work is over, then comes OCI and, from what I have heard, this month-long endeavor is by no means free of stress. Especially given the current market, I don’t think I can fully rely on OCI to get a job and will, thus, also result to mass mailing my resume and other materials out to dozens of firms. You see, in my world, I often assume the worst. This helps me cope when the worst (inevitably) comes true, but also allows me to get that much more excited when (less often) it does not come true.

Anyway, the point is, law school (indeed, the profession of law itself) seems to be a series of tests — all of them in essence being represented by the following maxim: “work hard, so that later you can work harder.” This only seems to let up slightly once becoming (at the earliest) a senior associate or perhaps a partner (or, at the latest, retired). But I don’t yet know enough about the practice of law to speak to that. For now, there is no end in sight …. be careful what you wish for.

One day down … I must say, though this is certainly not a unique or profound statement in any way, it is remarkably difficult to back into the swing of things after a nice long break. I forgot how tired I get waking up so early and then studying pretty much all day, with the only breaks really coming at lunch or otherwise to go to class. Since two of our Fall classes here (Crim and Contracts, this year) extend two quarters, I tried to do at least some outlining and review over the break just so I wouldn’t have to outline an entire quarter’s worth of learning, and more, later in the quarter. It worked out ok. I didn’t get nearly as much done as I wanted to. But the point is: I could get whatever amount of outlining I wanted to whenever I wanted over break. Now, once again, my life is regimented (and dominated) by class schedules and other meeting times I can’t do anything about. It’s just been a frustrating day today coming back to the rat race … that’s all.

As for jobs, the search is ongoing. However, things seem to be slowly looking up. As I said before, I have received some more positive emails. In retrospect, maybe I was just being impatient as some employers may have been waiting out the holiday season to respond; or maybe I was previously applying to the wrong people. In any case, the job hunt has become less of a famine … not yet a feast. So maybe, metaphorically, I’ve been tossed just a few morsels of food (not leftovers or crumbs — I don’t want to in any way disrespect those I have heard positively from). Again, while these emails might not necessarily bring about any more opportunities for employment, it certainly is a pretty nice break from wave after wave of: “We’re not interested.”

Also coming up are the 1L on-campus interview (OCI) sessions. I’m not too terribly hopeful for these since it seems that, except for maybe a select few, firms are pretty much closed as an option this summer. I have certainly learned while here that I am not one of those select few (at least “brains”-wise, my classmates are crazy smart). So unless I can work some kind of personal connection into employment somehow, which I have tried and been unsuccessful at so far, I think I’m out of luck. But at least this OCI deal (if I do decide to participate) will be a good opportunity to practice interviewing skills and maybe develop some connections for later on down the road.

Last note: it is COLD. Oh my god!!! Welcome to Chicago. I am very glad I recently bought an actual winter coat because my collection of sweatshirts would be worthless in this mess. I usually enjoy the snow and am kind of a little kid when it comes to how much I like snowball fights and what not (remember, your professional career begins in law school, haha), but it just might be too ridiculously cold out to have any fun outside at all.

So the job market has everyone freaking out, right? One negative consequence of this (or perhaps positive if you are an advocate for “true” learning) is that people think they need to do EXTRA well on first-year exams to have a competitive shot at decent firm work. The result is more people are studying harder, which might lead to pushing the curve of classes up higher than they might have been, say, 10 years ago when grades arguably mattered MUCH less. So, actually, it’s kind of funny — presently, students might “know” the law better, or perform better on law exams, than did these people 10 years ago, who nonetheless received a higher actual grade . . . again, all due to the dreaded curve. So some people, including myself, are kind of freaking out at this point. Although are grades count for next to nothing this quarter, it would still be nice to know that, by performing well this quarter, you’ve found an effective study method and that by continuing this method you might be able to better ensure quality grades later in the year.

More than just the freak out with respect to grades, people are sweating jobs in general. Everyone seems to be hearing different things through the grapevine and I’m caught in the middle, stressing like crazy when people tell me I’m screwed and sighing with relief when people tell me things will be fine. So many different law sites have so many different stats, numbers, anecdotes, etc., about who got what jobs from where and what school they attend, it’s pretty much a mess trying to keep track of it all. That, combined with the predictions of whether the economy will pick up, whether we will see a “double-dip” kind of economic recession, whether legal employment tends to pick up before other types of employment fields, etc., just makes it absolutely mind-numbing to try to worry about things at this point.

For me, while I am stressing, I’ve got some pretty good things going so far, I think. I can always go back to the job I had last summer. I was pretty good at it as a pre-law student and could probably just OWN it after a year’s writing, research, and general law training. But, while I was good at it, that’s not the kind of work I really want to pursue. I know most people say, “Oh, it doesn’t matter what you do after your first year. Just do something you might enjoy and get a good writing sample out of it.” Fine, but again, I’d prefer to diversify by experiences and not go back into the same thing I did last summer.

Other than that, I’ve got some legal contacts back in my home town I might be able to utilize that could work out, we’ll just have to wait and see. The problem with school is that, largely, your grades will define what kind of jobs you will be competitive for and those don’t come out until after I plan to apply to most places. So it’s like betting on my own success when I don’t yet have ANY clue as to like a measuring stick of how I’ll perform.

Anyway, stress abounds. Happy Thanksgiving y’all.

Disclaimer

I know this isn’t revolutionary and has been discussed before, but I don’t find any of the arguments against it compelling. I’m further aware that something like this won’t happen in the next thirty years. Cut me some slack and humor me.

Theory

If you are of a certain level of intelligence, once you have Lexis/West training, you are ready to begin practicing law.

Proposal

Bring back apprenticeship programs. Regulate and formalize them so that prospective lawyers apply directly to law firms, instead of law schools.. Vault 20 firms would be like the t14. Small firms and solo-practitioners would be the new TTTs.

LSAT

The LSAT survives and is still a determining factor in your acceptance to each firm.

Apprenticeship

The apprenticeship lasts 12 months; the apprentice pays tuition to the firm. The firm evaluates you and, if you perform at an acceptable level, offers you a job. The ABA requires an 80% offer rate to remain an accredited apprenticeship firm.

ABA

The ABA will accredit and monitor the apprenticeship programs. Small firms would be monitored like home schools.

Bar Exams

Unchanged, it’s not like you learn this material in law school.

Discussion

First, this system makes great strides in correcting the legal market oversaturation problem. With the law schools/middlemen cut out, every apprentice would know exactly where they stand regarding their post-apprenticeship jobs. Firms, knowing that they have to give job offers to almost all of their apprentices, will not bring in more than they need.

Second, law school is retarded. Taking broad classes and learning of the various restatements of law has very little practical value. Lawyers research, write, and argue. I will receive relatively little practice in these areas during my three years at HLS.

Third, it’s practically impossible to flunk out of a top 50 law school. You can learn nothing, get perfectly competitive grades, and walk out with a JD. I’ve barely gone to class this semester and I have exams in two weeks. I’m reviewing outlines right now and I’m going to do fine. By Christmas, I will not remember a single concept from this semester.

Fourth, no more insane tuition bills. Law school is overpriced. Nine-months after I graduate, my ~$200,000 in loans will be growing at more than $1400 per month. I nearly vomit every time I think about it. Under the apprenticeship model, you pay the firm $20k for your year of training. I arrived at this number after discussing this idea with a partner at a V20. He thinks it would cost large firms about that much to train each apprentice. Max loans would come out to ~$40k.

Fifth, this substantially reduces recruiting costs and will lower turnover. Law firms save money and (hopefully) will use these savings to hire more associates.

Address my stupidity in the comments please.