Unemployment rates are at an all time high. People across the US are in dire straits. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate is at 9.5% for June 2010. Everyone from Colleges and Universities to movie studios to law firms have turned to the salary line to effect the needed cost reductions.
Last week President Obama signed legislation extending unemployment benefits to over 2.5 million people in the United States – a welcome event for millions of despairing Americans. Perhaps now they can return to the job hunt with a little less desperation and a little more focus.
In the legal marketplace, the job search outlook has improved . . . from bleak to hazy, with a glimmer of hope. Lawmatch.com on a typical day now hosts an average of 2,000 legal opportunities (attorney and law-related positions) from markets all across the coutry; at this same time in 2008, our average was probably about 700. By way of comparison, today (7/25/2010) we had 755 corporate counsel positions listed on Lawmatch – and another 1,300 or so positions in private law firms or non-profit organizations.
Another encouraging phenomenon is the appearnace of more listings from small law firms, which typically lag behind larger firms in making commitments to new full-time personnel. Some of the smaller firms whose listings we’ve received in the last month include:
Adelson, Hess – San Jose, CA
Bierman, Geesing – Bethesda, MD
Greene, Radovsky – San Francisco, CA
Keller and Heckman – Washington, DC
Neubert Pepe – New Haven, CT
Boyd & Jenerette – Jacksonville, FL
Messner Reeves – Denver, CO
McCarthy Fingar – White Plains, NY
Sheehy, Ware – Houston, TX
Procopio, Cory – San Diego, CA
See these jobs, sign up for a free account and post your resume at www.lawmatch.com