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Issue October 2010

Limiting resources tarnishes judiciary

"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people …They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
- Thomas Jefferson

At a time when more citizens are more familiar with pop culture icons than the third branch of government, lack of court resources will further jeopardize awareness of the important role the judicial system plays in modern democracy.

As practitioners, we understand the immeasurable impact attorneys, judges and other stewards of the judicial system have in the lives of citizens. However, for the average citizen, who may or may not have had any experience with the system, convincing them of its importance is an increasingly difficult challenge. This problem is further accentuated by a finalized state budget that jeopardizes the courts' operations.

Job search dos and don’ts

"Entry-level law is very soft. Competition is high," says Seckler, president of Seckler Legal coaching in Newtonville. "There are a number of things to do and a number of things to avoid."

Seckler has 20 years' experience in legal job consulting and recruiting in the Boston area, and is now a legal coach - which, in today's economy, is a growth area.

New lawyers, law students confront opportunity dearth

The outlook for legal jobs last year was so grim that experts in the legal-jobs field are saying that the recruitment business model traditionally relied on by big law firms is a thing of the past. Summer clerkships - if the classes of 2009 and 2010 could get them at all - won't necessarily lead to a job offer. But the bleak job numbers of 2009 have given way to flat demand, or even modest growth, this year.