On The Fringe: Surrounded by Gray
Submitted by J Boogie [TLL] on Tuesday, 3 March 2009Comments
The impediment blocking my way to “life” is a thousand ton boulder that is our current economy. Legal blogs are starting to take a very different tone. Above the Law has started featuring a column called “Notes from the Breadline.” Word, I hear that. Our economy is in shambles, the stock market continues its free fall towards zero, and the dollar is losing value each day.For the recent law school grads who just passed their bar exams and have become licensed attorneys, only some have jobs. A handful had jobs but lost them due to firm downsizing. And there is an even larger group who exist on the fringe of two entirely different worlds. We are stuck in this expansive gray area, existing in neither world. The world of law school, where times were safe, student loans were used to buy both books and booze, and the casual hook up was the norm. School life was a time of shelter, where we marched forward with the assumption that we would pass the bar and move on with our lives. The days where you could waltz into class, skip your next one, start happy hour at noon, and end up face down on the floor. It was a fun time. Law school grads, however, aren’t there anymore. But many aren’t in the professional world quite yet either. We don’t know that world (yet). We look at it through the Internet, our television sets, and hope and pray that our time will come. The tales of high salaries, plentiful jobs and high social status seem to be of the tall, imaginary sort at the moment. Many lawyers probably imagined making good money (not biglaw money, but good money nonetheless) and being able to start up their careers, only to have this economic bomb drop on us. So what do we do?
We can go out and make a living, taking jobs that we didn’t exactly expect. Or we can hold out, hope that things change for the better, and not swallow our pride. I assume many lawyers might think that certain occupations are now beneath them. I never grew up that way. I have worked as many jobs as anyone, putting in my time in both the blue and white collar worlds. Nothing in these times is beneath any of us. We have absurdly high loan repayments that will come due relatively soon. The first of the month will always arrive. And so do those white envelopes saying we owe some faceless company money.
With the legal market in shambles, TLL wonders what others out there have turned to? Have any of you stumbled across the golden ticket? Is there an alternative career where lawyers are being welcomed? Maybe you’ve resorted to opening up your own shop. Or perhaps you are striking out in an altogether different direction. Back to school? Whatever it is, TLL would like to hear your stories. How are you passing the time?
-TLL
