Private practice, personal expectations: an exploration of factors influencing first job choice of law school graduates

This descriptive study was designed to add to the body of knowledge upon which the various players in the law career services and legal recruitment fields may draw when considering factors which influence law graduates to begin their careers in private practice and in their choice of a first legal employer upon graduation. This researcher incorporated concepts from the relevant literature and developed an instrument which was used to gather data from students at nine public law schools in the southeastern United States. Various statistical techniques were employed to answer three research questions: to describe the criteria that third-year law students from selected public law schools in the Southeast considered influential in choosing their first Job after graduation in a private practice setting and with a particular law firm and to compare this data to the results of a landmark study, Keeping the Keepers. Four criteria were most influential the choice of private practice, receiving ratings of Very Influential or Influential by a majority of respondents: the perception that there are valuable opportunities for training and mentoring from experienced attorneys in private practice, the compensation available in a private practice setting, the perception that they will perform sophisticated and challenging legal work in private practice, and the perception that experience in private practice will enhance options in other types of practice or work. Eight criteria were most influential in the choice of a particular law firm to a majority of these respondents: the people - the right "fit" with the firm, the location of the firm's offices in the area where they want to live and work, the nature and scope of the firm's practice, the collegial, supportive nature of the work environment, the prestige and reputation of the firm, the size and nature of the compensation package for associates, the firm's commitment to helping attorneys balance life and work demands, and the size of the firm. Factor analysis was used to distill the data into factors for comparison with Keepers research. The findings of this study reinforced the findings of the Keepers study in the importance of the "people factor" - a feeling of chemistry and collegiality with firm members, the nature and scope of the firm's practice, the availability of training and mentoring opportunities, and the access to sophisticated, challenging legal work. Issues related to partnership availability were not significantly influential in either study. Four primary distinctions between the results of this study and the Keeping the Keepers study were identified. Private practice was not found to be a "default" choice because of the lack of information about other employment settings during recruitment. While compensation was a very influential factor in both the choice of private practice and in the choice of a particular law firms in Keepers, compensation was less influential in the choice of a particular law firm than in the choice of a private practice setting in general in this study. Prestige was not an influential factor in the choice of a particular law firm in this study but was found to be important in both choices in the Keepers study. Location of the firm's offices, the most influential criteria in the selection of the first employer in this study was not named a primary criteria in the Keepers study. Several conclusions were drawn from this study. "Human factors" were pervasive in the first job choice decisions of these law graduates. A feeling of "being at the right place" incorporated working with compatible, collegial people in an interesting, challenging practice area characterized by a supportive work environment set in a location of choice. Women were most conscious of the availability of accommodation for family life needs, but both men and women were influenced by a firm's commitment to help them balance their lives and work. The balance of life and work included the critical factor of location of the job setting: location of the firm in an area where these respondents wanted to live and work was most influential to these respondents. Compensation, training and mentoring were important reasons for these students to choose to begin their careers in a private practice setting, but evidence suggested that once that decision was made, other factors were more prominent In the decision to join a particular law firm. The nature and scope of the practice and the expectation of challenging work at a particular firm was more influential to these students than the compensation they would receive or the promise of a career in that particular setting as a partner. Partnership was a goal for many, particularly those joining firms at mid - level salary ranges. Others expected to spend a few years In a work setting where compensation could be maximized with no expectation of partnership. Indeed, enhancement of one's marketability appeared to be a reward In itself for many respondents.