Law firms are gradually hiring fewer graduates, and more law graduates are seeking non-traditional employment. The percentage of legal graduates hired by law firms was 55 percent in 2007, according to the National Association for Legal Professionals.
To address this interest, the Office of Career Services at the Loyola Law School hosted a series of seminars this semester called “What Can You Do with a Law Degree.”
Guest speakers with non-traditional legal careers were brought in to talk to law students about their jobs and career options. Speakers have ranged in the past from Sheriff Marlin Gusman to Loyola economics professor William Barnett.
“The past six months have seen a dramatic change in hiring by law firms. I read on a daily basis about major law firms laying-off lawyers, especially associates,” said the Rev. Lawrence Moore, associate dean for academic affairs.
Many large financial institutions, the majority of the firms’ clientele, are either merging or going bankrupt.
Mirta Desir, third-year Loyola law student, said she learned a lot from the panels on non-traditional careers.
“I knew I wanted to go to law school, I just didn’t know I wanted to be a lawyer,” she said. “So, as a career (goes) I’m pretty open right now. But I’m more interested in business.”
Pam Occhipinti, director of Career Services at the Loyola Law School, embraces non-traditional careers for law students.
“The millennial generation is much more educated and technologically savvy,” she said, “so they are seeking more challenging careers. … They are also more public service-oriented.”
Lena Hinton, third-year Loyola law student and speaker at a previous career panel, has seen first-hand what impact a non-traditional lawyer can have. She worked at the Loyola-Katrina Clinic at the University of Houston during the displacement after Katrina and helped over 1,000 New Orleans refugees deal with legal issues.
“I never thought, ‘Let me go to law school to get rich,'” said Hinton. “I feel that if you’re passionate about your work, then the money will come. The best thing that we can do as lawyers is to help the people that really need it.”
Jean-Paul Arguello can be reached at [email protected].