CAMPUS/AREA UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Monday, December 6, 1993 3 So many lawyers, so few jobs Law graduates find job market null and void By Angela Cunningham Special to the Kansan Many graduates of KU School of Law are finding that a high-paying job is not always attainable or desirable. According to statistics compiled by the KU Law School Career Services Office, 26 percent of 1992 graduates are still seeking employment. In 1988, that number was 5 percent. "The '80s were a blip," said Linda Gill Taylor, owner of Of Counsel, a service that finds temporary jobs for out-of-work lawyers. "I can't help but feel empathetic, but becoming a lawyer is an apprenticeship," she said. "Our clients require lawyers who have done what they need many times." Taylor blamed the tough job market on competition created by the increasing number of law students in the nation. She said the lawyer population must decrease before job opportunities became available. "It it used to be that everyone out of law school would have a job somewhere but not anymore," she said. "For the next three years, young law grads are going to have trouble finding jobs." "There is a book for lawyers called 'How to Find a Job in a Tight Market,' " she said. "It was published in 1978. But the job market has fluctuated in the past; said Georgann Eglinski, associate dean of the school. She said that the legal market had always had its ups and downs. "The legal profession goes in cycles. Will this last? Probably not." Eglinski said that because of the sluggish economy, firms and other organizations were hiring later and more carefully than they once did. Eglski. She said law firms were requiring graduates to pass the bar exam before being hired. Lillian Six, director of school's Career Services office, agreed with But Six also said that some graduates did not want to take the usual entry-level positions, which often require long hours. Some unemployed graduates are looking for jobs that are less demanding, she said. "Students are concerned with quality of life," Six said. "In that age group they tend to be finding a spouse and starting a family. That's hard to do when you're working all the time." Mike Roberts, a third-year law student from Lawrence who will graduate in December, took a job as a law clerk in Topeka because he did not want to work the 80-hour weeks required by some firms. "I'm looking for jobs that people in my position didn't used to take," he said. Roberts said working as a summer associate in a large firm changed his idea of what he wanted to do in his career. tion made her rethink what she wanted to do. Becky DeSalme, a third-year law student from Bartlesville, Oklaho, who will graduate in May, said that working for two large firms and a corpora- "Law school doesn't help you decide what you want to do," she said. "I want to get out and see if I even like the practice of law. I'd like to work in a small firm, or on my own, doing everyday things people need you to do, like wills, bankruptcy and divorce. "But I don't have the courage or the malpractice insurance to hang out my own shingle." Eglinski said such students could find jobs outside the traditional career path. Such jobs include legal services, public defense and nonprofit organizations, such as the Children's Defense Fund. Taylor said that students should consider law carefully before choosing it as a career. "If you have been burning to be a lawyer since you were five and you love the law and you're interested in being a public defender or a prosecutor, then do it," she said. "But if what you want is to make $50,000 a year at 24, forget it." Decline in employment Susan McSpadden/ KANSAN Coat giveaway Students plan to work be merry during break Jessie Whitlock of Lawrence picks out coats for her family at the National Guard Armory during a coat giveaway sponsored by the Salvation Army and Scotch Cleaners. More than 2,000 items were given away at the Armory on Friday and Saturday. By Chesley Dohl Kansan staff writer Winter break. Those words are sweeter to college students than the taste of candy canes to children. Students relish nearly a month of freedom without the worries and anxieties of deadlines, papers, tests and early morning classes. But what exactly do KU students do to occupy their free time during vacation without the every day grind of college life? Robin Schillaci, Chicago senior, plans to spend her vacation in Florida, tanning on the beach. Schillaci said she had seen enough snow to last her a lifetime. "My parents just bought a condo so I'll be lying on the beach, jet skiing, drinking and relaxing," she said. "My parents are leaving after Christmas, so my friends are all coming we can party on my parent's pad." Simonna's friend, Cord Burk, Lawrence senior, said he would like to visit her but that, like many students, he would be working to earn some extra money for school. "I'll be working at Teller's pretty much all through vacation," he said. "I might even take a day or so off and go home for Christmas. Overall, it should be relaxing." Topping the list of student agendas was rest and relaxation. Still, some students might be busier between semesters than they were during their fall semester. Lineette Toschi, San Andreas, Calif, senior, said she had planned her Christmas vacation down to the last day during her Thanksgiving break. "I'm flying into San Diego on Tuesday since I'm done with finals on the first day," she said. "I'm going to hang out with friends from the University of San Diego and I'll be lying on the beach while everyone else is studying. "Then I'll go north to Irvine to see the Hertz Castle and L. A. to Disneyland. I'm spending Christmas with my family and working at a ski resort in Bear Valley for a week. I'll spend three days in San Francisco with my mom hitting the after-Christmas sales. And after a three day visit in Santa Cruz with friends, by then it'll be time to go back to Kansas." Other students are looking forward to seeing friends from their hometowns. Many people would prefer not to study during break. But Sam Hutton, Derby sophomore, is planning to get an early start on next semester by going to Europe through the study abroad program. "I'm thinking about going skiing with some friends because there's not a lot to do where I'm from," said Raja Paranjothi, Parsons junior. "I'll probably rent a lot of movies, relax and catch up on sleep." Hutton said he would be spending Christmas at home and New Year's in Amsterdam drinking in bars. "Then I'm going to be studying at the Goethe Institute in Munich, Germany, a language school," he said. "When I come back, I'm going to get my degree in German." NEALTH CARE: Astronomical costs don't ensure quality care Continued from Page 1. said. "They don't want Wal-Mart health care, they want Neiman Marcus health care." Prolonging lives with advanced technology also has increased costs, Zeddies said. About 25 to 30 percent of health costs are generated by people who die within a year, he said. But Robert Lee, associate professor of health services administration, said that despite the extra services and the hundreds of billions spent on health care, Americans were not better off than people in other countries who spent less. "We spend a whole lot more than anybody in the world, and our population's not healthier than others," Lee said. A lack of control over spending keeps the system from being fixed, Lee said. "When you're up to your ears in alligators, it's hard to remember your objective was to drain the swamp," Lee said. Charles Yockey, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said that reforming the health care system to provide universal access at affordable costs was an immense challenge. "I think the biggest problem we have is not taking away the patients' incentive to choose and their incentive to pay for some of the services they receive," Yockey said. "If you change that to a social system, what you receive in benefits, you sacrifice tremendously in quality. And that's a decision the American people are going to have to make." John Knack, executive vice president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas in Topeka, said that under the health care system, neither the provider nor insured patients had strong incentives to keep costs down. Providers charge as much as they can, and patients pass on the bills to their insurance companies. Because of that, health insurance companies are mirrors that reflect the costs generated within the entire medical community, he said. To reduce costs, Americans must put themselves on budgets and must have economic incentives to cap costs, Knack said. They also must focus on preventing health problems. "If the American public changes lifestyle habits, that will have the biggest bearing on us in the long run," Knack said. Donald, Hatton, physician at The Reed Medical Group Chartered, 404 Maine St., said that in addition to maintaining health care budgets and taking care of themselves, Americans must receive only necessary treatment. "I think that we have to try to be certain that the treatments we give are effective," Hatton said. "I think there are a lot of things we do that are unnecessary treatments." The cost of health care has exploded for numerous reasons, including the uninsured, advances in medical technology, unnecessary treatment and a system that does not control its costs. Inflation, new drugs and medical procedures, extensive medical training and malpractice suits can be added to the list of costly problems. Untangling and dusting off the complex web of health care reform will involve a close examination of the quality of care offered and access to it. But whatever health care plan emerges, its cost must be digestible by the American public. Projected health care costs by percentage of the gross domestic product if the current system is not changed. Increasing costs Source: Health Care Financing Review KANSAN THE NEW 7-LAYER BURRITO (IT'S ACTUALLY 8 LAYERS IF YOU COUNT THE TORTILLA.) TACO BELL. It's a huge burrito filled with rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and guacamole. And, for a limited time, all you have to do to get one is... 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