Law school graduates are having a harder time finding jobs, a new study shows.

A study by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) released Aug. 17 revealed the total percentage of new law school graduates who found jobs stayed flat from 2014 to 2015 at 86.7 percent. The percentage had been on a downward trend from 2007 at 91.9 percent until 2014 when it finally increased from 84.5 percent.

The study also showed that 2015 was the smallest law school graduating class in recent years.

James Leipold, the NALP’s executive director, said in a press release that he was especially surprised to see how low the number of private practice jobs obtained by graduates was.

“You have to go back to 1996 to find a comparably small number of private practice jobs,” he said.

Craig Boise, dean of the Syracuse University College of Law, said in an email that he recognizes the troubling results found in the study.

“The employment market for new lawyers continues to be a challenging one, as law firms and other legal service providers reduce their costs by employing more technology and fewer lawyers,” Boise said.

Kimberly Wolf Price, the assistant dean and director of career services, said in an email that law school students need to put in as much as on their career development as they do in the classroom. This includes making connections, exploring unfamiliar areas of the law, being flexible in career options and passing the bar exam, she said.

“For many, a successful search means as much time and hard work as taking a five credit class,” she said.

Riley Haris, a sophomore policy studies major and president of the SU’s chapter of Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity, said she encourages students to pursue law school as long as they are passionate about it.

“Although reports like these may deter students from applying to law school, I’ve never second-guessed myself,” Harris said.

SU’s own law school has been taking steps to help its graduates as much as possible. Boise said the law school has responded “aggressively” to the current employment environment in a number of ways, including calling for alumni to hire graduates directly or by introducing them to their network of contacts within law firms, government offices, not-for-profits, businesses and other legal employers.

Haris said a lot of people who go to law school do not necessarily work at a law firm, but that the law school education helps strengthen one’s public speaking skills and ability to persuade and advocate for different people and causes.

Published on August 31, 2016 at 9:45 pm