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Unless the economy cartwheels into brighter days, entry- level lawyers face gloomy job prospects, South Florida firm managers say.
"The outlook in 2003 for new lawyers is very rough," said Michael Steven Greene, a partner with Gunster Moakley in Miami. "Firms want someone else to spend the money to train entry-level attorneys."
Greene chided law schools for failing to advise students of what firms expect.
"If you want to make a lot of money, you will work a lot of hours," Greene said. "Nobody gets by on their looks. Lots of lawyers are not getting jobs."
University of Miami and University of Florida law schools downsized graduating classes, said Marc Anthony Douthit, a partner with North Miami's Douthit & Murray, a three-lawyer firm.
"We are getting to the point where South Florida is saturated with lawyers," he said.
A new corporate culture
Douthit, president of the Black Lawyers Association, said he plans to build a firm of at least 15 "African Diaspora" lawyers - African-American, Haitian and Caribbean - capitalizing on South Floridas diversity.
"It's the next step black lawyers need to make," he said, pointing to a growing market of English, Spanish and Creole-speaking blacks.
Douthit said, however, any lawyer faces tough competition here. Contrary to popular myth, lawyers rarely make big bucks.
A 2000 Florida Bar salary survey showed lawyers under age 35 reported pre-tax, median earnings of $55,000, and for partners, $140,000.
A 2001 CitiGroup poll reported lawyers with six to eight years experience earned average annual incomes of $70,000; more than eight years, $90,000, and partners, $150,000.
Like Greene, Douthit said new recruits face a tough time.
"There will be a lot of lateral movement among lawyers with four or five years experience," Douthit said....