So today, Career Services held their EIP "orientation," which was a meeting to introduce us to the logistics of the several-day interviewing "extravaganza" (their words, not mine) coming up in August, in which we run around in fancy suits meeting with potential employers in 20-minute segments in a process that I can best describe as speed-dating, except with law firms.
It's no secret that Columbia has a reputation as a "corporate" school, and as such, the school stakes much of its reputation on its ability to place students into jobs at top law firms. Ideally, this begins at EIP, continues in a 2L summer position, and then ulminates in an offer to return to the firm to work full-time after graduation. It's a time-honored tradition, and one that's being threatened due to the state of the economy and the severe slow-down in corporate legal work.
From the outset, it was clear that Career Services' approach was going to be more on the set-expectations-low-so-you-won't-be-disappointed-later side. The presentation included lengthy segments (I suspect this wasn't the case in years past) dedicated to urging us to consider public interest positions, to look for options outside of EIP, and to apply to small and-mid sized law firms. The phrase "cast a wide net" and "do your due diligence" came up on more than a few occasions.
The hard data they had wasn't encouraging, either. Fewer law firms are scheduled to come this year than next, and more are expected to drop out over the summer. Major metropolitan areas--New York, SF, LA, DC--will be hit the hardest. Fewer offers will be made across the board, and they'll come more slowly than usual.
All in all, it was a bit depressing, even for those not set on doing law firm work (after all, less firm jobs means more people looking for other lines of legal work.) Of course, no one really knows how it'll all shake out until it actually happens, and there's still some hope that things will turn around in the next few months. To her credit, the Career Services speaker did end her speech with a weak "It's not going to be that bad guys!" although I don't know that that assured anyone.
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