Elie Mystal at Above the Law wrote an, ummm, insightful story on the declining opportunities for law students. The article is summed up by one sentence: “[These stats provide] more numbers, statistics, and reasons to trade in your J.D. for a certificate of attendance in refrigerator repair.”

In the article, it states, “The median number of offers to 2Ls for summer associate positions at firms of all sizes fell from 15 in the fall of 2007 to 10 in the fall of 2008.” Translation: there are fewer opportunities for law students today than ever before. The article further states, “Not surprisingly, the offer acceptance rate also jumped. At 32.5%, it is the highest rate recorded since 2002.” Translation: law students are ultra desperate and pounce on the first offer.

In my opinion, we’re living in very exciting times. That’s right, I said “exciting times.” With all the negative news, I know this rhetoric places me in the minority. But seriously, there will never be another time in history when there’s so little competition. The big guys are frozen. Their business models are ill-equipped to handle these new demands for efficiency and low cost solutions. True, there are fewer dollars to pursue in the market. But with innovation, lawyer/entrepreneurs are now poised to take advantage of new client demands. Recently, a dismissal motion was filed in LA. The case is a libel action against Sacha Cohen, a/k/a Borat. The summary judgment motion was drafted by….you guessed it, Indians. In an article about the filing, a member of the trial team stated, “this is a case where outsourcing created more work in the U.S., rather than less. Because our team made the defense affordable, U.S. lawyers were able to do the things in the U.S. that they do best there, such as strategizing, supervising, editing, and appearing in court. The implications of this case are huge. With legal outsourcing, baseless lawsuits can be defeated on the merits, instead of settled simply out of fear of legal fees.” Opportunities are everywhere for lawyers that can orchestrate disparate players for the benefit of the clients.

The law school system is designed to crank out tons of law students that, in the past, got soaked up by the big firm system. Now, clients have more control and more choices. Small is the new big.

Tags: abundance