After the JD III: The Trajectories of Legal Careers

American Bar Foundation, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

After the JD III: The Trajectories of Legal Careers With over one million lawyers in the United States and 50,000 new lawyers joining the ranks of the profession every year, law represents one of the country?s most influential professions; lawyers are responsible not only for the administration of justice, but also are key players in the country?s economic and political life. While the profession has become much more diverse by gender and race, prestige and money also tend to be disproportionately allocated to white males. The result is a profession with major divisions in the settings within which lawyers work, the clients they represent, and the daily work with which they engage. Understanding who lawyers are, how lawyers make their careers, which lawyers attain elite positions, and whom lawyers serve are key issues both in terms of access to the profession and the way that the profession serves the ends of justice. After the JD (AJD) is the first empirical study of a nationally representative cohort of new lawyers. AJD is tracking the professional lives of more than 4,500 lawyers who passed the bar in the year 2000. The sample was interviewed in 2003 and again in 2007 and will be interviewed by web, mail, and telephone surveys in 2012 (approximately twelve years into their careers). By year twelve, many respondents will have experienced important transitions in their personal and career trajectories, including the achievement of partnership in private law firms, attainment of supervisory positions in government or business, establishing a solo or small firm practice, or exit from law practice altogether. The study assesses the personal, professional, and contextual factors that lead to different career outcomes. It is particularly interested in examining the influence of gender, race, and ethnicity on career development. The timing of the third wave, which follows the global financial crisis that began in 2008, will also allow researchers to assess the effects of the economic collapse on the legal profession and individual lawyer careers.