NALP Bulletin, September 2006

NALP periodically compiles information on law firm job opportunities compared with changes in population in a variety of cities across the country. The table below provides a look at job opportunities, as reported in NALP’s Employment Report and Salary Survey (ERSS), and changes in population between 1995 and 2005. The table includes a mix of cities: those that have consistently been the largest centers of law firm jobs (e.g., New York and Los Angeles); those experiencing growth in both population and law firm opportunities or that have been suggested as job growth centers in general (e.g., Austin and Charlotte); and those experiencing declines on both measures. Nationwide figures provide a benchmark.

The highlights that follow point out only a few of the contrasts and are by no means exhaustive.

• Among the ten cities that historically supply a large number of law firm jobs to new graduates, all offered more jobs in 2005 than in 1995. Cities such as Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, have seen this growth even as their population has experienced minimal growth or even contracted somewhat. Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York have experienced both job and population growth. It is interesting to note that, in a number of these ten cities, job growth between 2000 and 2005 was minimal, or even negative, but not by enough to offset the gains of the late nineties.
• Other cities, such as Birmingham, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Hartford, Jackson, MS, and Pittsburgh are losing population but experienced a net growth of jobs from 1995-2005, though not in all cases in both five-year periods. Some cities, such as Baltimore, Detroit, and Milwaukee are losing both population and entry-level job opportunities.
• In percentage terms, job growth has been the greatest in Irvine, CA, and Wilmington, DE. However, the number of jobs to start with was relatively small.
• Sunbelt cities have experienced varying degrees of population growth, but Charlotte, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa have all experienced notable growth in law firm opportunities.
• For many cities, job growth from 2000-2005 lagged considerably behind the pace of growth from 1995-2000, even for cities experiencing net growth over the full ten-year period. Austin, Boston, and Palo Alto are examples.
• Finally, cities vary a great deal on how many jobs are available relative to their population, and on how this measure has changed. For example, Palo Alto and Washington, DC, offered the most jobs relative to the population in both 1995 and 2005, with populations of less than 1,000 per job. Wilmington achieved this with the class of 2005. Jacksonville and Detroit offered the fewest jobs compared with the population, but the two cities have moved in opposite directions on this measure.

Law Firm Opportunities and Population Change, 1995-2005