Trending news

There’s definitely some cause for optimism for young lawyers today. Although the legal job market contracted pretty dramatically during the recession, you don’t have to look far to see signs of recovery. There is starting to be movement in the lateral hiring market, for example. Nutter recently added a number of top quality lateral attorneys and I think our experience is representative of what is going on in the market generally. There is also the fact that big firms hired a somewhat larger number of summer associates this year in comparison to the prior two years.

However, to me, the biggest difference in the landscape is not so much in the number of new lawyers offered jobs as it is in the way firms are investing in their new lawyers. Now, more than ever, law firms are recognizing the business imperative of investing in their legal talent. At Nutter this investment is taking the form of a new competency-based advancement and compensation system, better career guidance, and training that is far more targeted than in the past. This greater emphasis on professional development has the potential to create a generation of lawyers who are more productive, more successful and, ultimately, more satisfied in their careers. In that respect, this is an excellent time to be entering the legal profession.