Author (Guest Blogger): Matthew T. Smith
In 20 years the population that will require nursing home
care will have grown almost 300%. What
do you think the chances are that there will be enough attorneys who specialize
in the area of elder law and special needs trusts to adequately deal with the health
care leviathan that is the baby boomer generation? With the legal job market being the most
difficult it has been for new attorneys in the last 30 years, does it not makes
sense that new attorneys should be looking into nontraditional areas that have
a real potential for growth and development?
Personal injury will always be around, but there are more personal injury
attorneys than are actually needed.
Public defender and state attorneys are always needed, but with the
skyrocketing cost of student loans and inflation in our economy the 35-40,000
dollar a year salary may just not be feasible.
Why won’t new attorneys stop, take a look around, and ask themselves
where there is the greatest need? It’s
as if the new attorneys are fireman who just got the call about an emergency
that requires their help. They hurry
down the street to see a nursing home on fire on one side of the road, with only
one or two fireman putting out the blaze, and on the other side of the road
there is a kitten stuck in a tree with 100 firemen already attempting to pry
the cat down. The fireman already
helping the cat also have TV commercials and their pictures painted on buses
and billboards. Which side of the road
has the best chance of a new fireman getting some real life practical
experience in their profession? Which
side allows the greatest possibility of getting personal satisfaction in
helping someone? Which side do you
believe is going to be more grateful to you?
