Georgetown Law Dean Expects Grads Will Be More Entrepreneurial
The new dean of Georgetown University Law Center sees an upside to the tough job market for lawyers.
In an interview with the Washington Post publication Capital Business, Georgetown law dean William Michael Treanor says grads are now more likely to focus on what they really want to do with their careers. It’s “a time when people can think through why they came to law school,” he told the publication.
“I think we’ll see more people going into public interest and doing things that are entrepreneurial,” Treanor said. “This can be an exciting time to be a law student and to be in practice if you’re looking for the opportunities that are out there.”
Treanor says the school is responding to the job market by putting together a database of firms outside the typical markets and by looking at an expansion of its externship program.
Grads who opt for law firm jobs are likely to see the nature of their work change as clients refuse to pay associates for routine, repetitious work, Treanor told Capital Business. As a result, “we’ll see more outsourcing and contract employment. So associates will be doing more work that is truly lawyerly work.”
“I think that law firms can really return to the idea of law as a profession,” he added, “and there are tremendous benefits to that not just for the firms but for lawyers.”
