In September, the New York City Bar Association will kick off  its ‘Task Force on New Lawyers in a Changing Profession’, by calling on experts from across the country to contribute.

Isolate causes

Association president Carey Dunne said the intention was to isolate the causes of the job shortage; he expects recommendations for improvements in about a year.
Mr Dunne referred to recently-released American Bar Association figures showing that only 55 per cent of last year’s law graduates had, nine months later, secured a long-term full-time job that required a law degree.
The task force is to consider whether the jobs crisis is a temporary problem or something symptomatic of greater changes to the legal profession. Mr Dunne suspects the latter, speaking of ‘the plight of young lawyers’ that ‘face diminished opportunities to launch their careers and fear they will never get on track.’

Recommendations for change

Mark Morril, vice-president of the New York City’s bar association and deputy general counsel at Manhattan-based media company Viacom will chair the task force, a panel of about 30 professionals, including the deans of law schools, legal aid directors, in-house counsel and law firm partners.
Mr Morril commented: ‘The group we have assembled has the depth and breadth of experience necessary to assess the problem and the leadership position to be heard on significant recommendations for change if they are warranted.’