Making the Best of a Bad Beginning: Young New York Lawyers Confronting the Great Recession

Abstract

In this article, we utilize both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to examine the impact of the 2007-2009 recession on lawyers that were admitted to the New York State bar in 2008. This research examines the experiences of lawyers from a wide range of practice settings: large law firms; midsize firms; in-house corporate counsel; federal, state and local government and public interest organizations. This variation allowed us to capture differences in experiences. We found that overwhelmingly, the recession created financial and career insecurity for most lawyers in all of the practice settings, albeit in different ways. Particularly, while some large law firm lawyers experienced layoffs and deferrals, government lawyers experienced budget cuts that impacted their practice, and some public interest lawyers could not launch their careers altogether. In addition, the new lawyers in this study challenged the belief that a law degree is flexible and broadly applicable beyond conventional law settings. Further, in addition to feelings of job and income insecurity, lawyers who were admitted to the New York State bar during the financial crisis reported experiencing variable health consequences, including concerns about weight gain, depression and alcohol dependence. In addition, young lawyers working in law firms reported that their health was poorer than lawyers working in other settings, while young lawyers who indicated that they had chosen alternative professional career paths reported comparatively better health.