Other Fields Offer Viable Careers

A rising number of law school grads are landing nonlegal positions.

Facing a market where legal jobs were few and salaries low, Mo Sakrani opted to enter the start-up world instead of law after he graduated from UC Davis School of Law in 2012. A rising share of law school grads are landing outside traditional practice. Just 65 percent of the class of 2013 have jobs where bar passage is required or even helpful.

Sakrani's JD gave him enough skills at negotiating and drafting corporate paperwork to get in the door at SeedChange, a San Francisco company that connects angel investors with tech start-ups. The salary isn't what he anticipated, but reducing minimum student loan payments under the federal Income-Based Repayment (IBR) program means he can make ends meet.

Sakrani is now starting his own business. "I'm cool with the uncertainty," he says. "My goal is still at some point to make a decent amount of money."

Many grads are rebranding their law degrees and persuading employers to hire them in traditionally nonlegal positions. Even journalists who cover law are increasingly likely to hold a JD, says Laura Mahoney, a veteran staff correspondent for Bloomberg BNA. -N.M.

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Kari Santos

Daily Journal Staff Writer

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