3 Unexpected Pieces of Advice for Law Students Graduating in a Down Economy

I graduated law school in 2009. For those of you who don’t remember that was in the middle of the Great Recession.

In retrospect, the challenges of graduating during tough economic times led to a lot of personal growth. But at the time, it sucked. And I wouldn’t wish for anyone to graduate in circumstances like that.

Unfortunately, as I write this we’re in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, and it looks like law students graduating this year will be facing diminished job prospects. The following is my advice for law students graduating soon, or in any down economy based on my own experiences.

1. Don’t Worry about Getting a Job…Yet.

It’s rational to be worried about finding a job in an economic climate where job offers are getting pulled and job openings seem to be dwindling by the hour.

But trying to hustle and network and apply to jobs right after law school, in most cases, will actually hurt your career prospects because it distracts you from a mandatory prerequisite to any attorney job: becoming an attorney. And to become an attorney, you have to pass the bar.

So, until you’ve at least taken the bar, don’t worry about finding a job. Spoiler alter: if you pass the bar, you will find a job as an attorney, it’s just likely to take longer.

2. Take a Vacation, or Staycation, After the Bar.

After three years of law school, and two months consumed with bar prep, you have earned a break, and you need a break. Take at least a full week off after the bar. That means no applying for jobs during this time. Just pure time-off.

After years of hard charging and always doing things, this may not be easy. You may already find yourself coming up with excuses:

“I don’t have a minute to waste, I need to start applying to jobs NOW!”
…
“I don’t have enough money for a vacation. I have mounds of student loan debt and I just spent months not working while studying for the bar.”

With a few exceptions, you can find a way to take a week-off and one week in the grand scheme of things is unlikely to matter. You don’t have to spend a lot of money either. Try relaxing at your local beach or park with a guilty pleasure read, such as the “Crazy Rich Asians” series. Or maybe, just sit and read nothing for the first time in years. You do you.

Learning to relax is not just indulgent. Its a skill you will need to maintain your sanity as you embark on the practice of law, a demanding profession that can consume you if you don’t take back some of your time and energy.

3. Don’t Take Rejection Personally.

When you do begin applying for jobs, expect reject, and do your best not to take it personally. There will be some rejections that are teachable moments where you can identify something specific that went wrong. (Wrote the wrong firm name in a cover letter? Whoops. Pay more attention next time.)

But there will be far more rejections that have nothing to do with you, or your ability to excel as an attorney. Try not to think about those. Obsessing over things you can’t control will not help you get a job, or feel good. Instead, spend that time moving on to your next application. Getting your first attorney job, is often, a numbers game, particularly in a down economy.

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