Question 1: How would you describe the current condition of the job market for graduating students, 2L's, and 1L's?

Response: As everyone knows, the large firm market is still in an economic recession, so that market is still suffering from a negative impact.  However, the small-medium firm market, and the government market have been pretty steady.  Public interest, public service, government, and small-mediums firms are stable, even though the large firm market remains unstable.  The problem is that employers such as small/medium firms hire just a limited number of law students each year.  Though there are indications that the large firm market is stabilizing, the challenges of deferred associates for students hired in 2009 and 2010 continues to persist.  There are jobs out there, but if a student is just focused on the large firm, that will not work this year.

Question 2: Do you anticipate the job market improving or deteriorating over the course of 2010?

Response: There are signs that it is improving.  However, the improvement is slow.  The legal market is the last one to go into a recession, and it is also the last market to come out of a recession.

Question 3: Do you have any suggestions for students who are still looking for jobs?  Are there any particular strategies that students should utilize?

Response: The job search strategies remain the same.  What has been difficult is to convince students to expand the range of jobs that they are considering.  If you are fixated on getting a job in the corporate sector, which in New York is dead right now, then it is nearly impossible to get a job.  If you expand your job search to include tax, trusts and estates, and other stable practice areas then you will find a job.  Continuing law students should focus on obtaining legal skills. Graduating law students should focus on opportunities that will keep their legal skills fresh.

Question 4: Are there any particular sectors of the legal job market where employment opportunities are readily available?

Response: There are two prongs to this response.  First, employers in government, small-medium firms, and other stable sectors discussed above are hiring.  Second, practice areas that are recession proof include tax, bankruptcy, litigation to a certain extent, wills, estates and trusts, labor and employment, health law, government contracts, and family law.  These are the hot practice areas.

Question 5: What resources in the Career Development Office would you recommend students to take advantage of during their job search?

Response: One-on-one counseling, development of a job search strategy, getting relevant information, and accessing online information through webinars are all resources that students should utilize.  Besides these things, all of the counselors in the Career Development Office are former practicing attorneys so we know what the job search is like and what employers look for.  Since every student's job search is unique, students should come to the Career Development Office to get the names of alums and other contacts in the legal sector that students can talk to personally.  Networking is the route to a job this year, and students should take advantage of mock interviews as well.

The Career Development Office will be holding a mock interview program for 1Ls on January 22 with practitioners doing the interviews and providing feedback.  The CDO is also developing a program where a law firm Recruitment Director will be in the office one afternoon a week to do resume reviews for students and talk to them about what employers look for in a candidate and how they can market their skills.  If students take advantage of these and other resources provided by the Career Development Office, then the chances of  a student getting a job will increase.  Short webinars are another great resource that students who are short on time should utilize.  Also, students should pay attention to the Noteworthy because job opportunities are regularly posted in the e-newsletter - at the very least students should read it before deleting it.

Question 6: Do you think that the ranking of GW Law released during Spring 2009 is affecting the competitiveness of GW Law students seeking employment?

Response: I have talked to managing and hiring partners about this issue.  Half of them did not even know that the ranking went down.  So, I absolutely do not think so.  Compared to our peer schools, the percentage of employers that remained with GW Law from the last recruiting season into this recruiting season is a little bit higher.  Among older attorneys, there is an awareness that schools move up and down in the rankings all of the time.  Not one person involved in hiring GW Law students voiced disapproval to me regarding GW Law's decrease in ranking.  This year, GW Law's stats are looking up.