"I wanted to go someplace that I would really be able to soak up as much experience as I could without being thrown totally to the wolves," she said. "I really think I stumbled across a diamond in the rough."

Woodward, 27, is among a growing number of recent law school grads eschewing the big salaries and fancy perks of large firms for small firms where they can flex their newfound legal muscles.

According to the National Association of Law Placement (NALP), small firms provided the majority of law-firm jobs taken by graduates of the class of 2002, the most recent year reliable figures are available. Jobs in very small firms of two to 10 attorneys were the most common, accounting for about 29 percent of law firm jobs for graduates, up from 27 percent the year before.

Since the onset of the recession in 2000, the percentage of law school grads taking jobs in small firms has risen steadily (though modestly), while the jobs taken in large firms have declined at a corresponding rate. This is a reversal of a steady increase in employment in large firms during the boom years of the 1990s.

Meanwhile, economic uncertainty continues to squeeze the large-firm market, which remains plagued by firm failures, layoffs and hiring freezes. For the class of 2002, firms of more than 51 attorneys provided 44.7 percent of law firm jobs, down from 45.8 the year before.

Weathering The Downturn
Although concrete figures are hard to come by, several experts said that smaller firms have proven more adept at weathering the economic downturn.

"Smaller firms, because they hire more judiciously and they're not growing like wildfire, weren't subject to the dot-com mania," said Donna Gerson, author of "Choosing Small, Choosing Smart: Job Search Strategies for Lawyers in the Small-Firm Market," a guidebook for law students seeking small-firm jobs.

"They've been more steady than larger firms that had to lop off 20 percent of their work force," Gerson said.

Bill Hogan, chairman of the American Bar Association's General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section, said that smaller firms are used to changing gears quickly, which makes them more adept at adjusting to changing business conditions.

"They can respond more quickly," he said. "They don't have to go to four committees" to refocus their emphasis on more profitable practice areas.

Also, smaller firms are less likely to have invested heavily in practice areas that have been hit hard by the recession, such as mergers and acquisitions or financing Internet startups.

During a recent panel discussion about small-firm job searches at Boston University School of Law, several small-firm lawyers said their firms have withstood the economic downturn.

"In difficult times, people have less money to spend," said Steve Coren, a partner in a four-lawyer firm in Boston. "But I do litigation; I'm not a luxury. If someone comes to me, it's because they need to sue or they're being sued."

Sean Ploen, who co-founded a two-attorney Boston firm last year that specializes in business and commercial law, noted that smaller firms typically charge lower fees than larger firms, which makes them attractive in the current economy.

"In a down economy, consumers and businesses often turn to a small law firm as an alternative," he said.

Experts say that the decline in employment opportunities at large firms is causing some new lawyers who might have focused on big firms in the past to seriously consider taking a job at a small firm.

"As the market has contracted and larger firms have cut back in the hiring of summer associates and third-year law students, these students need to expand their horizons and look at a broader range of private firms, including smaller and medium-sized firms," said Betsy Armour, director of Boston University's School of Law career development office.

But job availability isn't the only factor driving law students to small firms. Some observers believe there has been a subtle, but significant, shift in values among young Americans as a whole.

Workplace experts say that the combination of a prolonged recession, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and corporate scandals has caused Americans to focus more on families and quality of life than status-symbol careers.

Polls show that Americans are increasingly interested in choosing jobs that offer more fulfilling work and more time to be with their families, even if it means lower salaries.

This shift in values fits well with the legal marketplace. Experts remind law school grads that in terms of sheer numbers there are far more small law firms than large ones in the country, and that small and mid-sized firms provide the bulk of employment for the nation's lawyers.

According to NALP, 74 percent of all lawyers work in private practice. And of those lawyers, 83 percent work in firms of fewer than 50 lawyers.

Small and mid-sized firms comprise the "backbone of the profession," Gerson said. When she speaks to law students throughout the country, she advises them to include small and mid-sized firms in their job searches, telling them, "The numbers are in your favor."

"Everybody gets very tied up in this notion that large firms are the best firms," Gerson said. "All the bells and whistles seem to go with these large firms, even though statistically, only 10 percent of lawyers in private practice work in firms of more than 100 lawyers."

While encouraging students to consider small firms, Gerson emphasizes that smaller firms provide "great opportunities for professional growth and responsibility."

"At a large firm, you can still afford to hide in your office and become a very good draftsman," she said. "At a smaller firm, there's a chance for you to make partner early and have an ownership interest in the business."

Hands-On Lawyering
Woodward said the range of work opportunities available at a small firm was a major factor in her decision.

"I was just smitten with the fact that I would get to do everything from drafting a will to doing a divorce to working on a federal class action," she said. "I couldn't find that much variety anywhere else."

Since joining the 15-attorney firm as an associate in September 2002, Woodward has drafted briefs, taken depositions, argued motions in court and handled divorces. The firm, which specializes in commercial litigation, is well known in Georgia's legal circles, and its attorneys represent clients in courtrooms throughout the state.

"If you come to work here, you're going to get to know state Supreme Court justices in Georgia and federal judges, and they're going to know who you are," she said.

The firm has also encouraged Woodward to bring in her own clients, and in her first case, she successfully negotiated a settlement on behalf of plaintiffs in a homeowners' dispute.

Woodward said that one of her most rewarding experiences has been the legal work she and another female attorney from the firm provide at a discounted rate for women from a local shelter who are victims of domestic violence.

She has also worked closely with one of the firm's partners on a major class-action suit involving the Tri-State Crematory in Noble, Ga., where 334 decomposing bodies were found last year. Woodward's firm is representing several of the funeral homes involved in the dispute.

"Just to have a vantage point of seeing something that big is amazing," she said. "Then, the next day, I can go to work on defending an insurance company in a car wreck or doing a divorce for a battered wife."

While the diversity of a small firm isn't for everyone, Woodward said she's convinced she made the right career choice in joining a small firm.

"It's for people who are more outgoing and don't want to be relegated to an office or library for the next couple of years of their life," she said. "There's nothing better."

Woodward isn't alone. Mandy Peterson and Heather Purdue, both second-year law students at Boston University, intend to pursue jobs with small firms because they offer greater opportunity for hands-on legal work.

Perdue said she looks forward to the opportunity to "get courtroom experience, have client interaction and be involved in different aspects of litigation."

Salary Differential
But while smaller firms may offer more hands-on work experience and a better quality of life, they also generally offer lower starting salaries than large firms.

While the median salary for new law school graduates in private practice is $90,000, the median salary for firms of two to 10 attorneys is only half of that - $45,000, according to NALP.

Perdue said she's not particularly concerned with the salary differential between smaller and larger firms.

"My main concern is finding a firm that fits me so that I can learn as much as possible and achieve my career goals while still maintaining a good quality of life," she said. "Legal positions in small and large firms are generally well paid, and I'm not concerned with making a 'top' salary."

Woodward said that her salary is less than a first-year associate would make at a large firm in Atlanta. But because she went to a public university for her undergraduate education and law school, she didn't have a large debt burden when she graduated. And that gave her "a little bit more freedom" in her salary requirements, she said.

On the other hand, Gerson pointed out, smaller firms usually provide more opportunities for quick advancement and ownership opportunities.

"At a smaller firm there's a chance for you to make partner early and have an ownership interest in the business," she said. "You also have the opportunity to make a lot more money in the long run. If you're at a small firm and you become an expert in something, such as plaintiff's personal injury work, you can hit it big very young."

In contrast, Gerson said, a lot of young lawyers start out at big law firms, but the washout rate for associates is extremely high.

"The chances of you becoming a partner at a big law firm are like winning the lottery," she said.

Woodward said the tradeoff in income is well worth the experience she's gained working at a small firm.

"If you're wanting to pull in a big paycheck, definitely go to a big firm," she said. "But if you want to be a lawyer, go to a small firm."

This article has been reprinted with the permission of Lawyers Weekly USA, the national newspaper for small law firms. To subscribe, please visit www.lawyersweeklyusa.com or call (800) 451-9998.

Copyright 2004 Lawyers Weekly USA