The legal industry in Los Angeles appears to be faring better than most which is what we’re seeing among our law firm clients. Some practice areas like bankruptcy and distressed asset work are booming and litigation is holding strong. The regulatory changes coming out of Washington further ensure legal employment throughout California. (see article below from the Jan. 11 Daily Journal in Los Angeles)
– OWC Staff
Job Losses Continue In Legal Sector
By Joanna Lin
Daily Journal (Los Angeles)
The legal sector shed 2,100 jobs in December, bringing the total number of jobs lost in the industry in the two years since the start of the recession to 55,900, according to preliminary data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The nationwide unemployment rate remained at 10 percent in December, with a total of more than 7.2 million jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007.
On average, the legal services industry has cut 2,329 jobs a month during the recession. The pace of job losses has slowed since October, when the number of legal sector jobs losses reached a recession high of 6,100.
In Los Angeles County, people might find the contraction in legal sector employment has been less severe than perceived, said Jack Kyser, founding economist at the Kyser Center for Economic Research at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.
Using state employment data, Kyser estimates there were 48,500 jobs in the Los Angeles County legal services industry in 2009, compared to 49,400 in 2007. Though many law firms laid off in great numbers, there were others that moved into the area and grew, he said.
“You’re probably going to have more work than people imagine,” he said. “People look at the national numbers and then they have a hard time putting it in the context of a local area.”
Though economic recovery may be in sight, it will come slowly, Kyser said.
The local legal sector can anticipate more activity in mergers and acquisitions, workouts and restructuring for commercial real estate, and bankruptcy, Kyser said. He added that there are indications of growth in some Los Angeles industries, including international trade, film, tourism and construction.
But employment numbers won’t bounce back as quickly as the overall economy, Kyser said. The number of “discouraged workers” – those who have stopped looking for work because they don’t believe they’ll find it – soared by 287,000 to 929,000 last year.
What this means, Kyser said, is that “when the economy really starts to add jobs year over year, you’re going to have a lot of people rush back into the labor force. The unemployment rate will probably remain at a high level for a year.”