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The Legal Job Market in New York City
New York City has one of the largest legal markets in America, due primarily to the city's enormous concentration of businesses. It is
because of the city's unique qualities that the state of New York has certain strict rules that a lawyer has to comply with before being
admitted to practice law in the city. One of these requirements is taking the state bar examination, which is considered by some to be
the most difficult bar exam in the nation.
Big Law Fir ms ver sus Small
Law Firms
New York City is home to
nu merou s big la w firms a nd even
more small la w firms which offer
services to different individuals
and entities depending on their
needs a nd on the a va ila bility a nd a fforda bility of the service in
qu estion. T he big la w firms offer services to the big co mpa nies
a nd individua ls who ca n a fford it, while the sma ll la w firms
ty p ic a l l y pr ov i d e se r v i c e st ot h o se sm a l l bu sin e sse sa n d
individua ls who ca nnot a fford to seek services from the big
law firms.
Another differenc e between the big la w firms a nd the sma ll
la w firms is in their client ba ses. Big la w firms tend to ha ve a
strong client ba se a nd ca n ha ndle a la rge nu mber of clients,
wherea s sma ll firms ca n typica lly only ha ndle a sma ll nu mber
of clients.
Av ailability of Wor k
It i se v i d e n tfr o m t h e g r o wi n g bu sin e sse c o n o my t h a t t h er e
is plenty of legal work a va ilable in the city. In genera l,
there is a lot of work a vaila ble in the state a s a resu lt of the
growing need for lega l a ssista nce du e to economic growth
a nd burgeoning bu sinesse s. T he a va ila ble legal jobs a re
innu mera ble a nd ra nge from positions for sk illed su pport sta ff,
su c h a sle g a l se c r e ta ri e sa n d pa ra l e g a l s, to j o b sfo r a t t or n e y s
themselv es, so me o f them with the most po werfu l firms in the
na tion. It is clear that with the ongoing increa se in economic
growth a nd produ ctivity, there are a lot of job opportu nities in
the state.
Ge ner al Salar y Ranges
Genera lly, the sala ry ra nges for legal pra ctitioners in New York
C i t y a r e ve r y c o m p e t i t i ve d u e t o t h e g r o wt h i n t h e j o b m a r ke t
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BUSINESSD ENGLOPMEN TCROSSING
and the increa sing cost of living in the city. A la wyer in New
York work ing in a big la w firm earns a sa lary sta rting from
$13 0,000 per yea r. T he salary ra nge, however, depen ds on the
type of pra ctice a nd the size of the firm in qu estion.
Cost of Living in Ne w Yor k
New York City is considered one of the most exp ensiv e cities
i n t h e w o r l d . T h e r e a so n s fo r t h i s m ay b e o b v i o u sc o n si d e r i n g
t h at t h e e c o n o m i c p o w e r o ft h e c i ty r e su l t si n h i g h i n c o m e
which in tu rn result in a n increa sed cost of living. The
in crea sed c osto ftra n spor t,e du ca ti o n,e le ctri ci tya n d ga s,
r e n t , fo o d , a n d o t h e r i t e m si s so m e t h i n g t h a t e ve r y c i t i ze n o f
t h e c i t y m u st d e a l w i t h . T h a t sa i d , m a ny p e o p l e w h o w o r k i n
the city choose to live in New Jersey, which ha s a lower cost of
living.
Quality of Life in Ne w Yor k
The quality of life in New York is
considered to be quite good a s
evidenced by social, economic,
and political fa ctors. T he thriving
e c o n o my i st h e m a j o r fa c t o r
c o n tr i bu t i n g to t h e h i g h qu a li ty o f
life in the city. With the increa sing cost of living, employers
m u st e n su r e t h a t e m p l oye e sa r e c o m p e n sa t e d fa i r l y a n d a t
ra t e sa ll o wi n g t h e m t o ma i nta i n or i m p r o v et h e i rq u a l it y o f
living.
Pro s and Co ns o f Be ing a Lawye r in Ne w Yor k City
Being a la wyer in New York City has its pros a nd cons. Some of
the pros of pra cticing la w in New York include the opportu nity
to learn from the best. The city attracts the best la wyers
and attorneys becau se of its enormou s lega l job mark et, a nd
therefore working in the city gives a la wyer the adva nta ge of
working a nd networking with a variety of legal experts.
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Other a dva nta ges of being a la wyer in New York City inclu de
the opportu nity to ma k e good money, a ttra ct ma jor clients,
and enhance one's reputation in the legal community.
On the other ha nd, pra cticing la w in New York ha s its
c ha l le n g e s. A sa r e su l to fst r o n g bu si n e ssg r o wt h , la wye r sa r e
fo r c e d t o p r ove t h e i r w o r t h i n e sst o t h e i r c l i e n t s. T h i s m ay b e
du et o sev era lr ea so ns,i nclu din g sti ffco m p etiti on for go od
jobs.
A la wyer in New York will find it hard to get the desired
j o b i fh e o r sh e d o e s n o t h ave t h e n e c e s s a r y e x p e r i e n c e .
T h i si se s p e c i a l l y t r u e f o r j u n i o r a t t o r n e y sw h o h ave o n l y
p ra c t i c e d l a w f o r a s h o r t p e r i o d o ft i m e . Ap a r t fr o m a c a d e m i c cred entia
ls,em ployersc onsidere xperi ence whe nre cruitinga
lawyer.
T h e fa s t g r o w t h o f t h e l e g a l m a r ke t m a ke s i t h a r d f o r a n
individua l to open a nd ru n a private pra ctice beca u se of the
m a s si v e c o st st h a t o n e h a st o i n c u r i n se t t i n g a n e w p ra c t i c e
u p, n o tt o m e n t i o nt h e c h a l l e n g e so fd e v e l o p i n ga so l i d c li e n t
base.
Conclusion
It is clear tha t New York City, being one of the largest lega l
m a rke t si nt h e Un i t e d S ta t e s, o ffe r sl a wye r su n li m i t e d
o p p o rtu n it i e st o pu tt h e ir la wd e g r e e st o lu c ra t i v eu se .

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