One has only to glance at SJCL’s online Job Board to see how many law firms and agencies are seeking to fill open attorney positions in the Central Valley. Often times, a job listing is re-posted more than once because it has gone unfilled for more than a month. And it seems paralegals are just as hard to come by, as noted by local attorneys like Glen Gates (Law ’78), who says his firm has had trouble filling paralegal positions as well.
In early November of 2021, corporate law firms in San Francisco and the Bay Area were reporting that they had on occasion, turned away clients due to a shortage of associate attorneys. With a windfall of work coming through their doors (some due to COVID), both large and smaller firms reported passing up client opportunities due to short staffing. Losses in potential revenue for some larger firms were estimated to be in the $ millions. (Mitchell, Rick. November 2, 2021.)
Likewise, in September of 2021, the District Attorney in Pueblo, Colorado was struggling to fill five vacant attorney positions in his office. Due to a shortage of attorneys across Colorado, law students who have yet to graduate or are awaiting bar results are now being considered for positions where previously, more experience was preferred. Due to understaffing, postponed court hearings have caused a backlog of delayed cases, and the quest for crime victims seeking justice is prolonged even more than usual.
When combined with the current upturn in instances of violent crime, the situation in Colorado, as well as much of the rest of the country, is dire. (Chuck, Natalie, September 28, 2021).
In addition to the usual ebb and flow cycles of interest in professions like the law, a whole lot of baby boomer attorneys are now preparing to retire. Where plenty of older, country lawyers were once happy to serve those living outside of city limits, the tendency of lawyers today is to base themselves in urban areas where the salaries are higher. This “graying bar” of attorneys, who are retiring and not being replaced, aids in the proliferation of “legal deserts” in rural areas and small towns. In these areas, folks needing assistance with everyday issues like contract disputes, estate planning, real estate transactions and divorce, must search far and wide for legal help.
While lawyer jokes abound about billable hours and the fleecing of the uninformed, the fact is that salaries in rural areas are often too low to meet the financial burdens of recent law school graduates and their mountainous student loan debt. Thus, as addressed at a forum on the SJCL campus back in 2018, gaps in legal access in rural communities continue to grow.
A 2019 report in the ABA Journal noted that the New Mexico Supreme Court was considering using licensed legal technicians to provide civil legal services in order to improve the availability of legal services in the state. (Weiss, Debra C., May 28, 2019). Of all the counties in New Mexico at that time, some 21% had five or fewer lawyers and two had no attorneys at all. Other states, like Washington and Utah, have already begun to license nonlawyer legal technicians to address the same issues.
While cost has always been a factor associated with legal access, some estimates claim that the cost of hiring a lawyer is now out of reach to some 80% of the population - yet most in this group do not qualify for free legal aid or programs. In addition, the COVID pandemic has uncovered yet another context for “legal needs.” With so many individuals experiencing financial difficulties, unemployment, and health concerns due to COVID, it has been demonstrated that a shortage of attorneys, and specifically rural attorneys, “has significant impact on public health,” (Statz, M.,
Termuhlen, P., 2020)
While the relationship between public health and attorneys in civil and criminal contexts is well known, the same relationship is responsible for establishing equitable health-related laws and policies that impact health care. It is the interventions of attorneys that transform institutional practices and help bring about the stability necessary for health maintenance. Thus, the justice gaps that exist rurally are leaving parallel rural health inequities in their wake.
As a service that is needed at one time or another by just about everyone – ultimately as unavoidable as the undertaker - it would seem like a win/win for college graduates to consider law as a sound and profitable career choice.
During years of U.S. recession, an uptick in law school enrollments often follows. But law school enrollment trends since 2010 have been consistently on the decline, which trickles down to fewer practicing attorneys. (Law School Enrollment Change, 1963 - 2019 - LST Data Dashboard (lawschooltransparency.com))
In addition to these factors, tuition costs, ever toughening bar admissions exams, or the misses in the application of justice itself have each had a hand in the trends. It suffices to say that students currently enrolled in law school can take comfort in the knowledge that there will very likely be more than one job awaiting them upon joining the bar.
- Chuck, Natalie, September 28, 2021. “District Attorney’s staff shortage forcing victims to wait for justice.” KOAA News 5: https://www.koaa.com/news/crime/district-attorneys-staff-shortage-forcing-victims-to-wait-for-justice
- Mitchell, Rick. November 1, 2021. “Wake Up Call: Talent Shortage Hits California Firms/Wallets”. Bloomberg Law: Wake Up Call: Talent Shortage Hits California Firms’ Wallets (bloomberglaw.com)
- Weiss, Debra C., May 28, 2019). “Facing shortage of lawyers in some areas, this state is considering licensing legal technicians”. Found at: Facing shortage of lawyers in some areas, this state is considering licensing legal technicians (abajournal.com))
- Statz, M., Termuhlen, P. October 1, 2020. “Rural Legal Deserts Are a Critical Health Determinant”, American Journal of Public Health 110, no. 10, pp 1519-1522 From: Rural Legal Deserts Are a Critical Health Determinant | AJPH | Vol. 110 Issue 10 (aphapublications.org)
- Law School Transparency. Law School Enrollment Change, 1963 - 2019 - LST Data Dashboard (lawschooltransparency.com)