Economy Sees Law Firms Defer New Hires

The sluggish economy has more law firms deferring offers of positions to graduating law students, Time reports. The idle young lawyers join more than 3,000 attorneys who have lost jobs since January 2008; the industry is expected to earn up to 10% less this year than last. One upside: Firms are offering as much as $75,000 to those who defer for a year.

That’s cold comfort to graduating lawyers, who have an average of $73,000 in debt. “Something about the way the system works has to give,” one administrator said. The glut of talent is good for public-interest and legal-aid operations, but even they will have problems dealing with the influx. “Who oversees employee benefits?” one exec said. “What about health insurance? Bar dues? Non-personnel costs?” (More lawyer stories.)