Make yourself useful!

Date: 8/13/2012

Apparently the world really doesn't need any more lawyers. The unemployment rate for recent law school graduates is the worst it's ever been. And there's no sign of it improving.

I'm sure many people welcome the news. A few less lawyers causing problems is a good thing, right?

But for the young attorneys entering today's job market, some of them with crushing student debt, it's a frightening thought.

I certainly know the feeling. After being sworn into the bar in 2010, I stepped out into the marketplace looking for employment and found absolutely nothing.

Eventually I managed to get a part-time legal job paying just above minimum wage. It was a humbling experience. But it gave me a chance to enter the profession. It also helped me realize that even if there were no legal jobs, there was still plenty of legal work. Law firms didn't need new associates. But people still needed attorneys.

It didn't take long before I decided to leave my low-paying job and start my own practice. It was a rough start to say the least.

However, after a few tough months, work started to trickle in. One client seemed to lead to another and work began to increase rapidly.

Within a couple months I had enough money to open a small office on North Main Street in East Longmeadow and, since then, my business hasn't stopped expanding.

I'm not trying to tout my business. Instead, I'm trying to give some optimism to the hundreds of unemployed attorneys in our area.

If you can't find a job, then do what Americans have been doing for generations; make one for yourself. There's still a need for legal work. So go out there, hang a shingle, and make yourself useful!

Justin R. McCarthy, Esq.

East Longmeadow