And Quite Possibly The Only Good Thing About Having Two More Years Left

Here's a bit of good news for 1L's - sucks to be a 3L right now though:

In the last few years, the number of offers for associate positions dropped nationwide, while acceptance rates increased. Permanent offers for the 4,233 students participating in summer associate programs in 2002 was about 81 percent, a decline from 84 percent in 2001. In comparison, the associate offer rate was about 90 percent in 2000 and the late 1990s, according to a National Association for Law Placement (NALP) survey.

The survey found the acceptance rates for those positions increased from about 66 percent in 2000 to 78 percent in 2002, the most recent year for which the group has statistics for associate offers.

Increasingly, 2004 grads have been forced to consider posts that for many would not have been on the radar screen in the past: judicial clerkships, jobs in government, nonprofits and small firms.

For students entering law school this fall or for those with one or two years left before graduation, the outlook is better.

But better isn't necessarily good so keep those fingers crossed.