What Would You Do With A Year and $80,000?

Clearly not everyone is struggling in this crappy economy. I read an article this morning describing how some large law firms are paying would-be hires up to $80,000 for the next year to keep them happy and on standby to start work with the firms once the market picks up and the firms can afford to pay them the full-time law firm associate salary. Confused? Here's how it usually works: many law students interview with big firms during the fall of their second year for a summer internship during the summer before their third year. Based on the student's performance during that summer, most law firms will make the student an offer for employment to begin after the student graduates from law school and takes the Bar exam the following year. So, for the most part, law students go into their final year of law school with a guaranteed job and (large) salary for after they graduate. A pretty sweet deal. And one I was fortunate enough to take advantage of myself.

Well, with Wall Street in the dumps and with law firms laying off associates left and right, apparently some firms can't afford to hire this new talent, but can't afford to lose them either. So the compromise is to pay them tens of thousands of dollars to putz around for a year until the firms get their finances in order. I wonder what I would have done if given this opportunity. I might have traveled. I definitely would have gotten myself an unpaid but priceless internship at a New York City magazine. I probably would have volunteered with various organizations. The possibilites are endless.

I wish someone would come along and offer me $80k now to stay home for the next year. Now that would be a sweet deal.