On NPR this morning, I heard that the unemployment rate was back down below 6%, a rate that we haven’t seen since about July of 2008 (the rate for that month was 5.8).  By August of 2008, the rate had jumped up to 6.1%.  Click here to see a nifty table from the Bureau of Labor Statistics detailing the information above.

I see the signs of recovery in our workplace.  I can see an increase in listings for various types of legal jobs, lawyers coming into the library to research and new lawyers and lawyer-wannabes coming into the library to see what the library has to offer them  Spring has sprung, albeit slowly.

To all those new lawyers and those who plan to be lawyers:  Come into your local county law library.  If you’re in the Coachella Valley area, come to the Indio branch of the Riverside County Law Library.  It’s not just a good place to learn about the law but we can give you a quick tour and show you the various resources and how to use them.  It may be a bit confusing at first but it’ll give you an idea of what lawyers do and use every day.  Legal research is an integral part of being a lawyer especially in the early years of practicing.

Have questions about law school?  Some of our library staff have been to law school and can give you an idea of what aspects we found challenging and what we found easy(ier).  We can also tell you how to look up law school rankings and why rankings may or may not matter.

If you intern in the area, we can help you learn how to do basic legal research.  Frankly, if you are able to do some legal research before going to law school, you’ll be head and shoulders ahead of (many) of your peers.

so, if you’re on the road towards practicing law, the law library should be your first stop.