Good luck on the bar exam people!

Just wanted to release some steam.

Recent California state bar member. Been looking for work for quite some time. No offers or calls. No interviews. I have a pretty big network being a socal local. Ive already exhausted most of my good leads. For example, ive had attorneys working at the firms take my resume to the partners. Thats a pretty good lead if you ask me. It puts my rez at the top of the pile. However, when there are 100 other resumes on file, with 99% of them being from better law schools or having a few years of experience, you dont get called. Im still applying though. Lately ive been learning who is the head of HR at these places, and going in their physically with suit and tie (im a very handsome 27 year old) and typically get smiles from the girls at reception. Maybe they will tell HR that hes a good looking guy LOL. Anything to help right??

Anyways, so im still looking. I know that it could take a very long time to get a decent job, perhaps even a year. I have to stay optimistic and cant let the frustration let me down. Not only am i battling high lawyer unemployment, but i also have a tier 4 rez weighing me down. Ive been doing some special appearances for some lawyers on the side, the occasional complaint/answer/motion for some side money. Good thing for the markets!!!

Sometimes i get bitter and say fuck this profession. Who are they to judge me. Nonlawyers think its the greatest thing ever to be a lawyer, whereas lawyers look at me like im some king of a retard. Hey, some of use take the LSAT at the age of 20 and have abusive mothers that fuck up your self esteem. I took it the first time and got destroyed. I also know a girl that took it 4 times over 3 years, canceled her score the first 3, and ended up getting a 168. Now shes at a tier 1 and will have infinitely better job prospects than me. I am smart as hell. Sometimes i say ill join the FBI. I hear they are hiring and JD's are very popular. Fact that I have a license could be icing on the cake?

There, thats my rant. Good luck again on the bar. Make sure you know collateral estoppel pretty well. I got that thrown at me in court in a trial de novo on a small claims case regarding a hit and run. Thats what $35,000 a yr in tuition gets you lol.

You should probably work on your grammar. Perhaps this will lead to greener pastures
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-----Original Message-----
From:

RB...That was a mean comment to make. Any wonder why you cannot pass the New York bar, Idiot? Because you are a mean MF who deserves only a brown pasture.

You need to come down to Earth. It's good to be optimistic, but you also need to be realistic. Big firms will not recruit 4th tier grads, no matter how good a transcript/resume you have. I don't blame you a bit for trying though.

You need to focus on a grass roots approach. Go to local law firms and submit your resume, you can get good experience through these small firms. The pay won't be great, but that's the trade-off. Look into public interest or working for the PD's office.

Bottom line, there is work out there for 4th tier grads. You just need to come to terms with what type of work it is, unglamorous, grunt-work.

Good Luck

cannot pass ? ive been practicing for a whole year bro.....

On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 11:04 AM, <

debt collection is a booming area of the profession.... perhaps you should
you gear your search to law firms hiring in that area

On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 11:13 AM, <

As for Mike's comment above, even top tier grads are having difficulty finding gigs at PD offices throughout the state. The idea that these offices provide better prospects for tier 4 grads is a myth.

hey i dont know if this is a viable option but i will be in a similar position as you in a short bit (4th tier school, CA bar) and i was wondering if the courts through the public defender service have like a sign up service for attys. meaning that you can sign up for cases, thereby decreasing their workload and you get paid.

Anyone if that exists.

Have you thought about doing JAG. I am thinking about the option i mentioned above it is available, doing JAG or opening up my own small firm. Like someone said, there will be a lot of grunt work but you will get a whole lot of experience going at it alone or working with a small size firm

So sorry to hear of your current doldrums. However, I am sure you prepared for law by interviewing grads from your law school so you knew what the market was before spending $35K. I'm sure that you were careful to intern every summer, so that law firms could see your work. I'm sure you're now volunteering at local non-profits that desperately need the skills and expertise so you have something great on your resume that is current. I'm sure you are spending your days in local courtrooms listening to what is going on, scoping out the better lawyers in the "real" life courtroom on top of those "special appearances". I'm sure you are volunteering every week at your local bar events for the many many many opportunities there. I'm sure you are doing every little thing possible in terms of actual law career experience in addition to "keeping up your good spirits".

Bondtrater, I am very sympathetic to your problems and I am glad you are keeping up your spirits. the previous post seemed very helpful, you should follow it. Just one minor thing: with all due respect, why are attorney posting in bar exam forum about their attorney problems when the exam is 2 weeks away and we need to stay positive without all the unemployment drama?
having said that, I won't go on this forum until the 26th. Good luck to everybody!!!

Thanks for the comments people. I appreciate the tips.

Someone posted something about "coming down to earth" and not applying to big firms. Just so you know I have not applied to a single big firm. Most law offices ive applied to have been 4-15 attorneys. No bigger than that. I know better than to waste my time by applying to big firms where i know i dont stand a chance. And to be honest i could care less as I dont want to work at a BIG firm. Even a firm with 6-12 attorneys is enough for me. Boutique firms are enough for me as I have side income from business. I just want to put my license to use for a few years.

Oh, and the person who said I have bad grammar, kiss my ass it was late as hell that night and I was having a downer.