Law graduates looking to government jobs

Some law students apply to private law firms dreaming of the luxury and prestige of a skyline-view office and a six-figure salary. Third-year Duke law student Robert Mays, however, will begin a clerkship for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the eleventh circuit after graduation.

  Mays is among a relatively small number of Duke law graduates who take federal judicial clerkships or join the federal, state and local government directly after law school. Although only 3 to 5 percent of Duke's class go straight to work for the government, and approximately 15 to 20 percent opt for clerkships, career advisers at the School of Law say public-sector jobs can be very rewarding.

  The Wall Street Journal reported last year that with hundreds of thousands of federal-government employees at or near retirement age, their pending departures could create major personnel gaps if younger replacements are not willing to fill the void. With lawyers making up a significant portion of the federal government's work force, many public entities are now heading to law schools to entice candidates for their internships in federal, state and local government.

  Indeed, a fair share of government entities have set foot on Duke's campus to meet students, and many more have actively solicited law students' applications without even coming here, said Bruce Elvin, assistant dean for career services at the law school.

  Anne Akwari, assistant consulting professor at the law school's office of career services, said Duke law graduates are highly ranked in the competition for government jobs.

  "Most students who seek these jobs don't make as much money as their law firm counterparts," Akwari said. "They enjoy representing the American people, the people of their state or the people of their locality."

  James Cox, Duke's Brainerd Currie professor of law, advises graduates to first work for a firm, and after about two years consider a move to the government with a position that will play off experiences garnered in the private sector.

  "The benefits of this are not just the wide range of experiences at the law firm that contribute to that steeper learning curve, but that it also better enables you as a government attorney to understand your future adversary," Cox said.

  Mays, who plans to look for further opportunities with the federal government after his clerkship, said that in fairness, one has to be an atypical law student to be willing to make that trade.

  "Private law firms come to you, and the interview process is shamefully opulent," Mays said. "Applying for a government job, on the other hand, involves a lot of leg work and is decidedly unglamorous. If you're lucky you might get a 20-minute phone interview."

  Third-year law student Mayur Patel, who has applied for a year-long fellowship to work with the Solicitor General's office, is concerned that the pay in government will not be as competitive as the private sector in the long term.

  "I am sure it is a great feeling to serve your nation, and the unique nature of government work can compensate salary to some extent," he said. "But it becomes a closer call in the long term when we have to wonder whether your choice will affect your ability to afford your children's college education or your parents' health care costs."

  With a typical student debt load of over $80,000 after law school, it is no wonder that many aspiring attorneys dodge the public interest route. Tack that on to a 28 percent rise in cost of living, and you've got fewer and fewer students willing to turn down an average private practice starting salary of $90,000 for the $36,000 a public-interest job lands.