The increased interest in overseas law jobs has only served to increase young lawyers’ concerns about the market and what they should be doing about getting jobs in the current financial crisis.
The Labour Government’s efforts to alleviate student debt concerns does not assist those who have already left the university environment, nor will it make any immediate difference to those in the next two or three years.
The important thing for them is to ensure that they have a career plan – particularly in times of economic uncertainty. For instance, the general practice of young lawyers to depart for overseas without having a job to go to is not one that’s recommended by most recruiters.
The tightening legal market in London, which is the principal destination for young lawyers, simply means that they will land there with a job in a pub rather than a corporate law firm – or any law firm.
It is important that planning is undertaken and if need be plans are altered to permit work in locations where jobs are still plentiful, such as the Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe (although that market too is beginning to change with the drying up of major deals).
Whatever people think about Helen Clark’s student wooing, the key thing for young lawyers is to check carefully before moving overseas for their next legal job.
