Law Students to Work at Nonprofit Law Firms

After years of growth in salary and job opportunities, lawyers have found themselves in an unfortunate Catch-22: There are now fewer jobs and more graduates than ever. And even while new law graduates find themselves unable to find clients, Americans find themselves showing up to court alone. Why? They can’t afford proper legal counsel and are turning to the Internet for research and services.

“It’s a perfect storm,” said Stacy Caplow, who is a professor at Brooklyn Law School. “The longstanding concerns over access to justice for most Americans and a lack of skills among law graduates are now combined with the problems faced by all law schools. It’s creating conditions for change.”

Others would agree with Caplow’s assessment. Former U.S. District Attorney Kendall Coffey recently wrote a piece urging seasoned lawyers and law schools to develop programs to help students develop skills and work up to better jobs.

“Law grads do not become competent lawyers simply by receiving a diploma. Nor does attendance in practical courses or even clinic participation equate to readiness for significant professional responsibility,” he wrote. “The most important learning begins after school ends. As a result, a critical need is to provide the mentoring and training that private and public law firms traditionally have provided. Volunteer lawyers are needed to fill the gap.”

And indeed, people seem to be listening. Schools like Arizona State University, the University of California Hastings College of the Law, City University of New York, and the Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law are beginning work on programs that would pair experienced lawyers with one or more law students or recent graduates. The experienced lawyer would act as a mentor to the younger lawyers, helping them to learn the skills needed for a career as a lawyer.

In fact, the Earle Mack School of Law just raised $22,000 in support of students that take summer positions to provide legal counsel to members of the community that might not otherwise be able to afford it. Programs like these could not only help bridge the gap between underserved Americans and lawyers, but it will also provide recent grads the opportunity to learn the ropes. It may not be as glamorous an industry as it used to be, but there’s still plenty of need in the world for lawyers—and this might just help fill it.