Identifying Legal Career Opportunities in the Bay Area
The Landscape of Legal Careers in the Bay Area
The Bay Area has not only experienced a boom in growth over the last decade but is also home to a vast number of businesses, corporations, and firms. This creates a high demand for legal professionals across all industries to fill these openings. Many of these companies need lawyers to work directly with their HR departments as well as lawyers to help navigate recent policy changes and legal issues they may be experiencing. With a booming tech industry, Silicon Valley has an especially high demand for corporate attorneys . The legal industry is growing beyond law firms and private practice – legal professionals can now work directly with corporate offices and businesses. This means that lawyers are no longer limited to working at a firm but can have flexibility in where they practice.
The growing number of people moving to the Bay Area means that many different industries are facing issues in hiring and retaining employees. With so much competition from companies to attract talent, legal teams often play a significant role in establishing proper contracts and benefits for their current and future employees.
Bay Area Law Firms with the Most Open Positions
Bay Area law firms are always in the market for top legal talent. The Bay Area is a thriving hub for law firms, ranging from large international firms to smaller boutique firms focusing on niche specialties.
One of the most prominent law firms hiring in the Bay Area is Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates, with four open positions at various levels of seniority on our website. Currently they are seeking a First-Year Associate (2017) in their M&A and Capital Markets group, a Corporate Associate (Litigation/Employment) in their Palo Alto office and a Litigation Associate in the California area. Finally, they are looking for a Research Specialist.
Another big name in Bay Area legal hiring is Covington & Burling LLP, a firm consistently ranked as one of the top 100 firms to work for in the nation. They are currently looking to fill a First Year Associate position in their San Francisco office, as well as a Finance Associate. Also hiring in the Bay Area is Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman LLP, which currently has a corporate associate position open.
Other generative firms in the Bay Area are Jackson Lewis LLP, which currently has a couple of open HR associate positions, and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, who is looking to fill a senior HR associate position.
Because of the wealth of legal training and job opportunities in the Bay Area, it is a very desirable place for an attorney to live and work. Furthermore, the quality of life in the Bay Area is excellent, with countless enjoyable outdoor activities all within a short drive of the city.
Legal Specialties in High Demand
In a market as diverse as the Bay Area, legal professionals with targeted specialties are in high demand. As you weigh your opportunities and your future, it’s worth considering which areas of law are relatively insulated from a down cycle.
Intellectual Property. With the Bay Area at the heart of the technology industry, it’s not surprising that we lead the nation in intellectual property attorneys. The region boasts over 4,000 IP specialists, accounting for 22% of all the IP attorneys in the United States. Of the lawyers in San Francisco alone, 15% hold a degree in electrical engineering, and 14% hold a degree in computer science.
Environmental Law. Environmental issues are hot button topics in much of the US, but especially in California. Environmental policies are frequently in flux and the legal landscape is equally complex. Many attorneys with an environmental law specialty will work in-house, where the demand is constantly high.
Health Law. The increasing complexity of health care law has resulted in a drive for legal experts in the field. Bay Area residents can benefit from this by furthering their expertise with a J.D.-M.D. or J.D.-Ph.D. programs. A long list of leading law firms are based in the Bay Area and specialize in health law.
Searching for the Right Legal Position
Once you’ve identified your new career goals, it’s time to move forward with the search for Bay Area legal jobs. When people think about legal job searches, they often picture a line of people in suits waiting for an interview. While there is some truth to this image, the reality is that the job search process for legal jobs in the Bay Area has changed a lot in the past several years. Are you ready to join the ranks of lawyers who have employed these and other creative strategies for Bay Area lawyer job searches?
Networking has long been a recognized tool for anyone looking to grow their career, especially lawyers. In a profession where so much business is built on personal recommendations and professional associations, it’s no surprise that networking is so powerful. Start with the people and places you trust and look for recommendations and referrals to good sources of information about law firms and employers in the area. The State Bar of California website contains a lot of very useful information for job seekers. LinkedIn is a great place to search for groups and top connections in your area of practice, as well as a convenient tool for looking up contacts at specific law firms and companies in the Bay Area. Now would also be a good time for a refresher course on the art of the informational interview.
Job boards can be an effective tool for any job search. Explore sites that are specific to the Bay Area legal market as well as larger sites like Indeed and Zip Recruiter. Don’t ignore smaller organic job boards. Many law firms and organizations prefer to post their jobs directly on their own website or even on blogger sites in the case of smaller practices. So make sure you’re checking the postings at Bay Area employers’ websites as well.
While you may be doing most of the work in a legal job search, don’t overlook the benefits of working with a recruitment agency to help you identify opportunities in the Bay Area. There is a good chance that a recruitment agency will know about positions in the Bay Area before they’re officially posted on job boards and other sites. At The Talley Group we get a lot of calls from Bay Area legal employers looking for candidates for open positions. Many of these calls are for positions that have not yet been officially posted on job boards or anywhere else. When a legal employer has reached out to us to fill a position, we know that it is important, and we can help you put your best foot forward in securing it.
Educational Pathways to a Legal Career
The educational requirements for Bay Area legal jobs can vary depending on the type of work requested. Many legal positions require prospective employees to possess a California bar exam, and other positions require both an undergraduate and a graduate degree in the appropriate field. Job applicants can distinguish themselves from the larger applicant pool by obtaining continuing education credentials in their specific area of expertise or by pursuing higher education degrees that are closely related to the field in which they want to work. For prospective and recent law students, The University of California Berkeley School of Law and Santa Clara University School of Law both offer comprehensive three-year degree programs for those seeking higher positions in the legal field , including graduating with a Juris Doctorate degree to pursue a career as a practicing attorney in California. California State University, East Bay and Stanford University also offer undergraduate and graduate degrees for prospective attorneys and many other law-centered careers. Continuing education classes for practicing lawyers and paralegals may be available at these schools as well. For professionals who wish to pursue a career outside of the courtroom, legal jobs in the Bay Area are plentiful. Legal secretaries, paralegals and lawyers alike may be required to obtain continuing education credits in specific areas of law. The University of California Berkeley School of Law, Wiener Holtzner and SuperTorts.com all provide continuing legal education (CLE) courses that allow these professionals to maintain licensing while pursuing their legal interests.
Salaries and Benefits
Attorneys looking for Bay Area legal jobs can expect to receive competitive compensation packages. However, salary alone is rarely the only consideration candidates make when choosing to accept an offer. Typically, base salaries for select positions in the region are generally comparable to other major markets across the United States. For example, a law firm associate can expect to earn $113,000 – $160,000, a general counsel can expect to earn $187,000 – $232,000, a patent agent can expect to earn upwards of $129,000 and a partner can easily exceed $880,000, depending on his or her experience level.
Finally, the Bay Area is often able to leverage its higher cost of living to negotiate a strong benefits package, which can often include medical coverage, retirement, long-term disability, and paid time off.
The Future of Legal Careers in the Bay Area
As we look to the future of Bay Area legal jobs, it is clear that the impact of technology and globalization on the legal profession will continue to be significant. As companies expand across borders, the need for legal professionals who are conversant in multiple jurisdictions and cultures will only increase. This presents an opportunity for legal professionals who are willing to adapt and acquire new skills that meet the demands of a globalized economy.
Technology will also continue to revolutionize the practice of law. From document automation to blockchain-based smart contracts, the innovations of the past several years are only the tip of the iceberg. These technologies not only promise increased efficiency but also the opportunity for legal professionals to spend more time on substantive work and less on administrative tasks.
Furthermore , as artificial intelligence continues to advance, some legal jobs may be eliminated or require a different skill set. However, this should be viewed not as a threat but as an opportunity to evolve and take on more complex and meaningful roles within the profession.
The Bay Area legal market will undoubtedly face challenges in the future, from increased competition to the ever-present pressure to reduce costs. Yet, these challenges will likely give rise to innovative solutions and new opportunities for growth. Legal professionals who are adaptable, tech-savvy and culturally agile will be well-positioned to not only survive but thrive in the coming years.