The Lost Generation

Tue, May 31, 2011

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By Lindsey Skerrett

My name is Lindsey, and I’m a 2008 law school graduate. That’s right. I am a member of what is being termed the “Lost Generation”, those who graduated from law school between 2008 and 2010.

The term originally described the generation that came of age between World War I and the Great Depression. Wow that’s a lot to live up to. Why the heavy monkey on our backs? Many 2008 graduates expected to leave law school and enter firms after bar admission. And then the economy tanked. Firms lost business and could no longer afford the next wave of summer associates waiting in the wings for their dream jobs. What were those associates to do? Government and non-profit jobs were suddenly a hot commodity. With the influx of talent, salary no longer mattered despite often six figures in loan debt. Talented attorneys were looking for experience and a reason to get out of bed. The trend continued into 2009 and 2010. Those graduates faced not only a reduction in hiring, but also the attorneys from previous years still fighting their way through job applications too numerous to count.

Where are we today? The recession appears to be over and the jobs are slowly reappearing. However, with the backlog of talent in the Twin Cities, the Lost Generation will likely struggle for years to come.

When I started law school in 2005, all I knew was that I wanted to help people. Sounds like a line but its true! I come from what I term an “economically disadvantaged” background. We were often poor. Dirt poor. Food shelf poor. Were it not for the assistance of many people along the way and the support of loving parents, I would never have dreamed of trying to obtain a full scholarship to Wellesley College. After my graduation from Wellesley, I struggled with what I wanted to do. My parents both faced major health issues, so I knew I wanted to be closer to them. I felt this overwhelming need to try to give back to society because of my relative good fortune. I thought law school would best combine my desire as well as my interests and talents (writing, editing, research etc.) My English degree would not go to waste after all! Perhaps taking on six figures in debt when I knew that Big Law and its accompanying salary were not my bag was a poor decision. Hindsight is 20/20. But I loved law school and there’s no looking back now.

I was admitted to the bar in 2008 and shortly thereafter was lucky enough to obtain a judicial clerkship. In January 2010, my life changed forever. In the same week, I found out that my husband and I were expecting our first child and that my mother had Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I was terrified about becoming a parent, having little experience with children. But my mother, despite her own struggles, patiently guided me through and cherished the idea of finally becoming a grandmother. My world was again turned upside down in April 2010. In the same week, my clerkship ended and my mother passed away suddenly.

2010 was both the best and the worst year of my life. I spent most of my pregnancy at the depths of grief. No words can describe my misery. My husband and I welcomed our daughter in September 2010. For me, her birth was bittersweet. Darkened only by the absence of my mother. I knew that being a newly motherless mother, I needed to take time to focus on my child. As the months wore on, my fears regarding my career surfaced. Where would I even begin to start my job search after so long? Have I been out of practice for too long? When will the jobs begin to reappear? How will I prioritize my job quest when I am caring for a nursling who, at this point, is extremely attached to me?

I finally feel that I am at the point in my first year of motherhood that I am able to re-focus my energy on my career. I’ve loved my time with my daughter and wouldn’t trade it for the world. However, I am also wistful about being out there in the world–discussing topics which made me love law school in the first place. I know that when I do need to head off to work, my daughter will understand one day that it was because of her love that I was able to pick myself up, brush myself off, and try again. I cannot imagine a better lesson to teach, and one that perhaps can apply to all of the Lost Generation.

job search, Lost Generation, parenthood

This post was written by:

lindsey.skerrett - who has written 3 posts on JDs Rising.

Originally from Spooner, WI, Lindsey graduated from Wellesley College in 2003 with a B.A. in English. She graduated from William Mitchell College of Law in 2008. She and her husband live in St. Paul and welcomed their daughter Miri in September 2010. She is currently exploring all options to re-enter the legal field. Exploring while Miri naps or plays that is.

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7 Comments For This Post

Lawmatch Says:
May 31st, 2011 at 11:59 am

Recent law school graduates face a difficult time in their job search. It’s not easy to find a job that offers fulfillment and pays the bills! What you’ve been through has been tough, but as you mentioned has made you stronger and better mother, and eventually a better attorney. Best of luck to you in your job search Lindsey! Thanks for posting this article- you offer other attorneys in your situation hope!

Backlog Says:
June 9th, 2011 at 10:42 am

I blame the Legislature for some of this mess. I heard through the grapevine at a recent CLE that the AG’s office has had several attorneys leave and the positions are not being filled due to budget uncertainties. I also know that there are several other government employers that have not replaced attorneys who have retired or left because there is no certainty as to what will happen with the state budget. There are a lot of good opportunities for attorneys in state and local government. Unfortunately, those opportunities are simply not available right now because department heads have no idea how much funding will be available.

Private firm hiring seems to have improved somewhat, but there is such a backlog of talent that it is not unusual for a firm to get 200-300 applications in response to a posting. In a field that large, it is very difficult to stand out even if one has solid academic credentials and experience.

Mary Says:
June 13th, 2011 at 9:04 pm

Dear Lindsey (fellow Wellesley grad),

You seem to be located in a good place to start your own firm. I’d suggest doing lots of pro bono volunteer organizations and get your feet wet that way.

Mary

John Miller Says:
June 20th, 2011 at 9:24 pm

I’m just curious…why did your clerkship end?

Frank the Underemployed Professional Says:
October 26th, 2011 at 12:26 am

It should be noted that the legal profession has been glutted for decades. Attorneys have had difficulty entering the profession for a long time. It’s nothing new, but we’re only now hearing about it because the general economy is bad and the scambuster blogs have only been publishing for three or four years. The legal establishment is trying to whitewash the employment situation as being temporary and due to the current recession. Contrary to what they want people to believe (especially prospective law students), JD overproduction, has been a problem for many many years and will be a huge problem even if the economy recovers (in addition to the giant mass of previously produced unemployed or underemployed-involuntarily-out-of-field JDs who still dream of entering the profession).

I have conducted a study of the amount of JD production every year going back to 1963 based on ABA and U.S. Census stats.

http://flustercucked.blogspot.com/2010/07/40-years-of-lawyer-overproduction-data.html

In 1963 the amount of JD production relative to the U.S. population was such that if the population remained static (neither grew nor shrank) for 40 years and the same amount of JDs were produced every year, after 40 years (in 2003) there would be about 1 JD (produced over the previous 40 years) for every 491 Americans. (I call this 491 number the “Sustained Inverse Lawyers Per Capita” (SILPC–pronounced “Silps”) number, meaning that the current amount of JD production relative to population is such that if population and JD production remained the same, that number would be sustained over time.)

Since then the amount of JD production relative to population began to rapidly increase. In just five years, the SILPC dropped from 491 in 1963 to 313.5 in 1968. By 1973, in just ten years, the amount of JD production had almost tripled from 9,638 (in 1963) to 27,756 resulting in a SIPLC of 191. The highest rate of JD production relative to population occurred in 1983 when it reached an all time low of 161.0 — a rate of production sufficient to sustain having one attorney for every 161 Americans. In 2009 the SILPC was about 174.5.

So, as you can see, JD overproduction has been a problem for a long time. As a result, based on these ABA numbers, a Bureau of Labor Statistics number, and the assumption that your average attorney would work for 40 years before retiring or dying (some more, some less), it turns out that only just under 54% of all JDs produced in the previous 40 years are able to work in the legal profession at jobs of varying quality and pay:

http://flustercucked.blogspot.com/2010/07/statistics-suggest-that-only-538-of-all.html

Using the assumption that it was easier to enter the profession in previous decades and that it has become increasingly difficult, it’s very possible that fewer than 30% of all new JDs are able to find work in the legal profession (of varying quality and pay, meaning that some of the jobs are not worth the price of law school):

http://flustercucked.blogspot.com/2010/07/statistics-may-suggest-less-than-30-of.html

So, as you can see, contrary to what the law schools and the ABA wants people to believe, JD overproduction has been a problem for decades and an upturn in the economy won’t do much to alleviate the situation. (Translation–if you can’t gain admission to HYS or obtain a guaranteed three year full-tuition scholarship and can live with your parents or your uncle/daddy doesn’t own a successful personal injury firm and has promised you employment, don’t go to law school.)

I encourage everyone who is concerned about JD overproduction and the current state of the legal profession to commiserate with other disenchanted JDs at the JD Underground discussion forum: http://www.jdunderground.com or http://www.qfora.com/jdu/

Frank the Underemployed Professional Says:
October 26th, 2011 at 12:31 am

One more point. It’s easy to whine and complain, but more difficult to propose an actual solution to the JD overproduction problem. So, what is the solution? Very simply, we need to shutter 75% of the law schools or reduce that amount of law school seats by 75%. This would allow most new graduates to enter the profession and also help many previous graduates enter the profession.

Our rallying cry should be, “Close 75%.”

Sara Says:
October 31st, 2011 at 12:53 pm

Please stop whining. I graduated from law school in 2003, and the economy was bad back then. I’ve had to work several jobs that have nothing to do with the law just to pay back my student loans, and I graduated in the top of my class!

I wish you 2008-2010 grads would stop thinking you’re the only ones in the “Lost” generation; there are thousands of other law school grads across the country in the same boat due to the poor economy the past decade.

The government should get rid of federal financial aid – if you can’t afford to go to law school, tough beans. If you really want to go, you’ll find a way to go. In all honesty, you’re not missing anything – just saving yourself from years of heartburn, health problems and mental frustration. And don’t fool yourself by thinking you’d be the “exception to the rule” and land one of those high-paying big firm jobs. You may or may not be – it’s sort of like playing the lottery. In the law, it’s all about luck, good timing, and who you know, instead of what you know (merit).

Anyway, I wish you new grads would just stop whining and find a job, any job, like the rest of us. Start paying your student loans down so the rest of the taxpayers (and us older law school grads that don’t receive any help from the Obama administration) don’t have to pick up your tab! You took the loans out – you chose to go to law school, even though many of us older grads have tried to warn you so you didn’t end up like us – so you need to take responsibility for the decisions you have made (like choosing to have a child when you didn’t even have a job lined up). Stop whining, get some personal responsibility, and start paying your debt to society back like the rest of us!

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