To dream the impossible dream ... To bear the unbearable sorrow. Those are the lyrics to the song "Impossible Dream" (preferably the Elvis version), the two lines illustrating the bookends of our current economic woes. Impossible dreams and unbearable sorrows, or so it seems with Ted Brassfield, a recent Indiana University Maurer School of Law-Bloomington graduate. During Monday's town hall meeting with President Obama, Mr. Brassfield highlighted his law school debt and bemoaned the prospects of marriage and family. He then engaged in the following exchange:
"I was really inspired by you and your campaign and the message you brought, and that inspiration is dying away," Brassfield told Obama. "What I really want to know is: Is the American dream dead for me?"
The President's response notwithstanding, the question itself underscores the long shadow cast upon the legal market (if not the entire economy). In a question and answer with the National Law Journal, Mr. Brassfield discussed his sporadic employment and his six-figure student loan debt. Of particular interest is the following response:
When I've been to job fairs and interviewing workshops, I ask practitioners, "What I should be doing?" They say, "You should volunteer." That's great in theory, except how do you pay the bills? I don't know. For the time being, I know way too many people whose law degree has led to contract jobs. That doesn't create the basis of a career, and that's what I was trying to get at with my question to President Obama. The American Dream isn't just having your own home. It's not just having a family. The American Dream, at least the one I was brought up to believe in, also involves making something of yourself - giving back by doing and creating and having a career.
The obvious points aside, Mr. Brassfield uses the phrase "great in theory," which is a sentiment applicable to the broader picture. At a certain point in history, both law school and the American dream were "great in theory," and though both have taken a hit, this theory is still the thing to remember. Before law school and as a student, everything was great in theory, which is an attitude that, though difficult to nail down, should be retained. As you navigate the contracting job market, waiting for it to re-expand, keep in mind that what is great in theory always has the potential to actually be great. The same can be said for the American Dream. Mr. Brassfield asked, "Is the American dream dead for me?" but what he should have asked is, "When will the American dream stop being an Impossible Dream?"
The latter question is difficult to answer, and though it might not be comforting to talk in non-specifics, ideas, and "theory" jargon, the fact is that a positive outlook is very important. At the very least, having some kind of outlook is important. You went to law school and you now have your J.D., and the theory was, at one time, that you could and would land the legal job of your dreams. You theorized that a law degree would be the ideal vehicle towards a better, more rewarding, and prosperous life. I'd like to say the rest is history, but the recession intervened, and what was "great in theory" became, to some, "bad in theory." But that's a function of hindsight, which fills the void at the expense of foresight.
A great theory should not die. The theory should remain, the dream too, but what is not entirely clear is the outlook. Foresight predicts the recession's end (and according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the recession has ended). When things improve, you will still have your legal education, and in theory (your original reason for going to law school), having that J.D. will put you in a good position to follow your American Dream.
Source:
Karen Sloan, Law School Grad: Obama Didn't Answer My 'American Dream' Question, The National Law Journal, available at http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202472307857&Young_law_grad_Obama_didnt_answer_his_question.