Law Degree Losing Its Luster?

[aggieAXO]

I just spent he weekend with one of my BFFs from high school. She graduated from a third (or fourth?) tier law school in 2009. It took her a year to find a job and she now works in disability law. She recieves no benefits and if she loses the case the firm does not get paid-even if she has spent a year on the case. Is it not standard practice for lawyers to get some benefits?? In veterinary medicine it is well known that you should get your CE, most or all of your health insurance, AVMA dues, vacation, liability insurance paid for. I also get a 401 K and disability insurance (my boss is pretty generous, I also can go anywhere for CE-even europe). It just blows my mind that she gets nothing especially having a professioonal degree. And to spend hours and hours on a case and get nothing. She spends many of her weekends working, reading over medical records (which this weekend I had to interpret some of the medical acronyms for her on the plane). Is this typical??

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by aggieAXO

I just spent he weekend with one of my BFFs from high school. She graduated from a third (or fourth?) tier law school in 2009. It took her a year to find a job and she now works in disability law. She recieves no benefits and if she loses the case the firm does not get paid-even if she has spent a year on the case. Is it not standard practice for lawyers to get some benefits?? In veterinary medicine it is well known that you should get your CE, most or all of your health insurance, AVMA dues, vacation, liability insurance paid for. I also get a 401 K and disability insurance (my boss is pretty generous, I also can go anywhere for CE-even europe). It just blows my mind that she gets nothing especially having a professioonal degree. And to spend hours and hours on a case and get nothing. She spends many of her weekends working, reading over medical records (which this weekend I had to interpret some of the medical acronyms for her on the plane). Is this typical??

It is becoming more typical. It sounds like they hired her as an independent contractor with a fee split if she wins. Firms can do whatever they want with new hires right now. The market is glutted. Some firms are taking advantage of that. My current boss believes that all firms will go this way.

I'm currently looking for another job as quickly as possible, and if it's not in law, so much the better. I'm sick of management. I've had one good boos in 16 years and he left to open a real estate company. Two of my bosses had serious drug/alcohol problems. I've had enough. The pay sucks. The hours suck. I ask myself on a weekly basis why I thought law school was a good idea.