Job Opportunities in Georgia!!!!!

Once again, a chance to work for free!  Georgia is joining the party and taking advantage of the overabundance of lawyers nation-wide, by changing the court rules to "make it easier for public agencies to take advantage of free legal aid in the midst of an economic downturn that has trimmed their budgets to the bone."

Do you know how much the state of Georgia wants you?  So much so that they are now "relax[ing] restrictions for out-of-state attorneys who want to volunteer for the Attorney General, a district attorney, a solicitor of a state or municipal court, public defender's office or non-profit organization."

"The rules allow a newcomer to appear in court as long as they are accompanied by an attorney for that agency. Out-of-state attorneys also can enter documents into the record as long as an attorney for the agency signs off."

Just like those fools that commute two hours to work for free in New Jersey, there are apparently people who find this sort of experience valuable enough to commute to the Peach State.  

Don't get too excited, readers. They don't want just anyone's free services.  Any old T>14, TT or TTT schmo can't land one of these jobs.  They want the crème de la crème for these pretigious positions.

Taryn Marks, an attorney licensed to work in Massachusetts is so excited that she will be able to make court appearances in Dekalb County, Georgia for free.  She says, "  "It's part of the whole process, so you get to do all the things behind the scenes and as well as appearing in court," Marks said. "To be able to experience all of it is very exciting."   I find it exciting to get paid.  You aren't Perry Mason, retard.  I guess she is one of the lucky ones though, as a deferred Ropes & Gray  1st year, she may actually have something to come back to.  Although, she's been without pay or a stipend  from graduation until her alleged January 2010 start date.  But I will admit, she is better off than 90% of her peers.  Man, she's going to find BigLaw extremely boring after doing criminal work.

Jacquelyn Schell, a 25-year-old deferred associate, graduated in May from Vanderbilt University, is yet another blessed deferred associate, who is now working for free in Georgia.  She was set up to work for Bryan Cave... a firm that deferred start dates, cut salaries, and laid off 58 associates.  She's certainly on steady ground. 

If this is how the best of us fare, how is it for the rest of us?  What's worse than working for free?  Nothing, actually.

I'd like to this opportunity to correct a horrible assumption that most recent grads have, which causes them to work for free or little pay.  Some recent grads pursue the "experience"--thinking that it will make the difference in their resume. They have been misled to believe--if only they have "experience"--they will land the ultimate job.  Let me explain something to you... if you have the right experience, then it will never do you wrong.  The right experience = experience in the field that you ultimately hope to practice in.  But if you seek to do corporate law, and you work for free in the DeKalb County Prosecutor's Office, your criminal law experience will be held against you--with the caveat that this general principle doesn't apply if you are deferred from a BigLaw job that forces you to take a public interest job.

From the day you graduate from law school, firms are trying to box you into an area of the law.  Although we all receive the same general law degree, law firms find it in their best interest to minimize your broad reaching experiences and maximize  your experience that are drastically different from their areas of practice.  Why would they do this?  Well, in my own experience, it seems that they will do anything to make your experience irrelevant so that they can pay you less. It all comes down to this statement, "Well it looks like you've focused on _______ area of the law, we do _________. So, we can't pay you like a 2nd/5th/7th year.  We are willing to offer you $50K."  That's been my experience at least. 

Take it or leave it.