Prospects for Law Graduates in the Economic Downturn
When a door is closed another opens. This phrase stands quite true with regard to the legal sector. Although currently in the throws of economic recession, law graduates are still in good demand in certain areas.
Economic slowdown has its worst effect on property; extensive redundancies are made in this specific sector. The residential property market is almost closed. But in commercial property, new sales and acquisitions and finance and development have kept the market alive. Solicitors can find jobs in commercial property sector, as landlord and tenant work is holding out.
Caseload of general insolvencies has created a huge demand for solicitors with insolvency and contentious property litigation experience. However, the demand is much higher for solicitors, who have commercial insolvency or corporate recovery experience rather than personal insolvency. Recruitment agencies and legal firms are also reporting that there are a number of jobs available for contentious construction solicitors. A candidate with arbitration experience is especially sought after these days.
Another area with legal jobs in these turbulent times is employment law. As commercial firms are continuously making redundancies and a new employment legislation is being considered by the government, jobs in the field of employment law service are surging. It is certainly difficult to believe that current demand in employment legal service is so high that a single recruitment agency can never fulfill it on its own.
Personal injury sector has remained steady throughout the economic downturn. Yet, this particular sector has moved ahead to take advantage of those law and LPC graduates, who are looking for training contracts. These graduates can work like case handlers for the small and fast track work. Areas such as wills and probate, family and crime seek more paralegal graduates than there are today.