TTThat was the year TTThat was (2013 edition)

The legal industry grew shrank 1,000 positions in 2013, accompanied by the sound of one hand clapping. Three-year growth was about 13,000.

It's been a tough slog, but even the densest individuals acknowledge reality and now aim for JD-Advantage™ slots instead of attorney positions. Let me explain something: I deal with legal experts all day long, both at work and elsewhere, and only one has a JD, the company lawyer. Our HR person is well acquainted with employment law and overtime and knows enough Obamacare to keep the company out of trouble. My condo management agent is also a licensed real estate agent and is familiar with liens, insurance, mortgages, foreclosure, and, of course, association law. Our bookkeepers know state and local eviction procedures and requirements and sometimes testify in court. Our techs have EPA cards. Basically, everyone picks up applicable law on the job through both formal and informal training. Some study to become licensed or certified in their discipline. If they don't know something, they know how to reach out, and that wouldn't necessarily be to a lawyer.

I don't believe a JD would benefit any of them, especially after taking financial and opportunity cost into account. It's a needless distraction from a career. In short, there is no JD Advantage, and that's with a GOOD outcome. A bad outcome, which is what I had, involves leaving the presTTTigious JD off your résumé and plugging the gap. There may be less stigma to a JD these day than when I graduated, but the palpable foolishness of making a lifelong sacrifice for a gilded, unnecessary degree speaks volumes about the deteriorating applicant pool seeking it.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t17.htm

Not seasonally adjusted	December	2012	1,131,900
	October	2013	1,131,200
	November	2013	1,129,800
	December	2013	1,130,600	-1,300
Seasonally adjusted	December	2012	1,128,000
	October	2013	1,129,300
	November	2013	1,127,800
	December	2013	1,127,000	-1,000
Change from Nov-13 to Dec-13				-800

November 2013

Employment fell a little in November but grew a little year-over-year. To everyone who graduated this year, happy holidays.

In an awesome bit of irony, Standard & Poor's noted

Credit quality appears to be bifurcating between small stand-alone law schools and component programs in nationally recognized universities and large state schools.

Looks like the legal education industry is about to follow the bimodal distribution trail blazed by the legal services industry and morph into winners and losers. To the losers: network. Even the winners are finding that their cash cow just died.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t17.htm

Not seasonally adjusted	November	2012	1,127,900
	September	2013	1,124,200
	October	2013	1,131,300
	November	2013	1,130,500	2,600
Seasonally adjusted	November	2012	1,126,100
	September	2013	1,130,100
	October	2013	1,129,700
	November	2013	1,128,600	2,500
Change from Oct-13 to Nov-13				-1,100

OcTTTober 2013

Headcount dropped around 1,000 in October and is on pace to finish a hair above the previous year, if that. One individual who will not be working as a lawyer is Christopher Knorps. At least not in NY. Thanks for calling this a-hole out, Nando. Either he or someone else with lots of time on his or her hands is the reason I now moderate comments.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t17.htm

Not seasonally adjusted	October	2012	1,125,900
	August	2013	1,130,000
	September	2013	1,124,000
	October	2013	1,130,200	4,300
Seasonally adjusted	October	2012	1,125,100
	August	2013	1,128,900
	September	2013	1,130,100
	October	2013	1,129,200	4,100
Change from Sep-13 to Oct-13				-900

September 2013

With a huge 6,600-position growth over the last twelve months, and almost 15K over the last three years, the legal industry is on fire!

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t17.htm

Not seasonally adjusted	September	2012	1,116,700
	July	2013	1,136,800
	August	2013	1,130,300
	September	2013	1,123,800	7,100
Seasonally adjusted	September	2012	1,123,700
	July	2013	1,126,100
	August	2013	1,129,200
	September	2013	1,130,300	6,600
Change from Aug-13 to Sep-13				1,100

Another LS applicant in action

Things have been a little overwhelmingly busy at work for a couple of months. Plus, with the gummint on its back, there is no glowing September BLS report on the legal industry. Since I'd like to keep the blog going, here's a law school aspirant making the leap; I hear applications have really dropped!

JD Junkyard is back

http://jdjunkyard.forumatic.com/viewforum.php?f=2
See you there.

August 2013

Did you hear about the impending lawyer shortage? No? Read the link! We're all screwed! Has the National Jurist ever steered us wrong?

Annual growth in the entire legal industry was a little over 6,000 jobs. There have been 15,000 positions added over the last three years. That's not lawyers; it's the whole damn industry. Put that in your JD-Advantage™ pipe and smoke it. Preliminary August growth was 2,700 jobs, which should bring cheer to scammers from Newark to Santa Clara.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t17.htm

Not seasonally adjusted	August	2012	1,122,400
	June	2013	1,134,400
	July	2013	1,136,600
	August	2013	1,129,600	7,200
Seasonally adjusted	August	2012	1,122,400
	June	2013	1,124,700
	July	2013	1,126,000
	August	2013	1,128,700	6,300
Change from Jul-13 to Aug-13				2,700