From 1L to 401(k): A Pilot Study of the Later Stages of Lawyers' Careers (GR 11-01) (PDF)

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) is a nonprofit corporation that provides unique, state-of-the-art admission products and services to ease the admission process for law schools and their applicants worldwide. More than 200 law schools in the United States, Canada, and Australia are members of the Council and benefit from LSAC's services. (CAS), and other matters may change without notice at any time. Up-to-date LSAC policies and procedures are available at LSAC.org, or you may contact our candidate service representatives. Executive Summary Although much has been written about the early stages of lawyers' careers and the " path to partnership " (a path not well traveled by women in this field), there has been a dearth of research into the maturing of lawyers' careers and the transition to retirement. This research investigated whether gender differences observed in the career choices and constraints of younger lawyers disappeared or persisted in later career stages, and whether these differences affected decisions to wind down careers. The core of the project involved re-interviewing a small number (46) of male and female lawyers who completed an American Bar Foundation–conducted survey when they were in law school in 1975. The interviews linked law school aspirations (obtained in the 1975 survey) to career trajectories, including the end of legal careers, and explored whether gender had an impact on career outcomes and, if so, how. The data, collected during face-to-face interviews, consisted of life-history narratives, formal resumes, and life-history calendars. In addition to the qualitative data, a snapshot of the career outcomes of the original survey respondents from three of the original seven law schools surveyed in 1975 (n = 599) was collected through Internet search engines. Career outcomes were analyzed in terms of early career aspirations and law school type (elite, state, urban) and were compared to the trajectories and aspirations of relatively young lawyers who participated in the recent After the JD study. Where are they now? A surprising number of those surveyed in 1975 continue to practice law. Analysis of factors that might predict career outcomes 30 years after the original survey revealed that gender was the most consistent factor affecting outcome. Not surprisingly, perhaps, female lawyers were less likely to be found practicing law 30 years after law school. The analysis revealed significant differences by school type as well as some differences accounted for by the social capital (i.e., parents' education and elite undergraduate …