Academic

The Recession is Over

By Gordon Smith, Christine, Hurt, Vic Fleischer, Fred Tung, Lisa Fairfax, David Zaring

It's official. The recession ended in June 2009, so any declines now would be a new recession, not a continuation of the old one. The WSJ declares the U.S. "still haunted" -- a metaphor that eludes me -- but the stock market is going bonkers.

And the market for lawyers? I suspect that the "law school is a scam" blogs will be with us for awhile, but anecdotal evidence flowing into my office is suggesting reason for hope. Last year's graduates have been getting bar results over the past few days, and those who aren't already employed are now launching their searches. Rising 3Ls (the class that has most concerned us) are getting judicial clerkships and many firms are hiring again. Former students are making lateral moves, not just hunkering down.

Those of us on the this end of the market still have a lot of work to do, but I am encouraged by recent developments.

Full post as published by Conglomerate on September 20, 2010 (boomark / email).