Investigating Legal Career Opportunities in Baton Rouge

Snapshot of the Legal Environment and Opportunities in Baton Rouge

Across the Playhouse Square District of downtown, the sprawling Teaching Hospitals complex near the I-10 and 12 interchange, and south along Government Street with new offices lining the Mississippi River, thousands of lawyers call Baton Rouge home. Baton Rouge is the political seat of the state and continues to be a strong market for big firm and general legal services. The last five years have seen law firms in Baton Rouge growing their ranks. Additionally, boutique and mid-size firms have sprouted up every year since the turn of the century. In many instances, these firms expanded from New Orleans, Monroe, Lafayette, North Louisiana, and even more recently Panama. The University of Southern Louisiana continues to be a strong recruiting ground for top talent in Louisiana and throughout the South. Many legal professionals in the area enjoy the convenience of living and working in a small market while servicing a wide number of out of market clients. As a result , the Baton Rouge market is one of the most reasonably priced major cities in the country in which to live. This, accompanied by the outstanding recreational opportunities this place has to offer, make it an appealing alternative to New Orleans and to the larger Texas markets. The market remains very viable across practice areas with transactional work in real estate, tax, banking and finance, litigation, labor and employment (with the majority of employers being state and government), estate planning and probate, as well as governmental relations, regulatory, compliance, and environmental law. Steadily increasing are the demands for healthcare transactional, litigation and corporate governance work.

Leading Law Firms in Baton Rouge

Major law firms that operate in Baton Rouge include Adams & Reese, McGlinchey Stafford, Jones Walker, McKay Law, Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, and Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson. Adams & Reese is a regional law firm with more than 370 attorneys in the U.S. and London. With offices in Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Dallas, Gulfport, Houston, Jackson, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Research Triangle, and Tampa, and London, the firm has a wide-ranging practice that includes business, bankruptcy, and estate planning. It is considered the 101st largest law firm in the United States, as reported by National Law Journal.
McGlinchey Stafford, a national law firm, was founded in 1983 in Jackson, Miss. with just three lawyers, the firm has grown steadily and now employs more than 180. Its Baton Rouge office serves a variety of industries including banking, construction and telecommunications. McGlinchey has two offices in Louisiana, with the other located in New Orleans. However, its reach extends nationwide with offices in Washington, D.C., Florida, Ohio, Mississippi and Texas. In the Baton Rouge area, key areas of practice include corporate, intellectual property, litigation, labor and employment and real estate.
Jones Walker is one of the largest law firms in the Gulf South. It was formed in 2001 when Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre, a firm dating back to 1877 in Louisiana, merged with Wilkins, Stephens & Jones, founded in 1944 in Mississippi. It has approximately 250 attorneys and offers a broad range of legal services for regional, national and international clientele. The firm’s offices in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Florida position it to provide commercial services to a wide array of industries, including energy, insurance and maritime.
McKay Law handles a variety of cases, ranging from corporate law to domestic and family law. Founded in 2011, the McKay Law firm was operated solely by Kenneth Bradley McKay, Jr., an attorney with almost 30 years’ experience. Mr. McKay has been named as one of the Top 10 attorneys in Louisiana and has been representing individuals and corporations from around the United States in a wide range of legal issues. The firm’s services include business-related and criminal defense legal matters, as well as legal services for divorces, child custody, and adoptions in the Baton Rouge and surrounding areas.

Highly Sought-after Areas of Legal Practice

In the past decade, certain legal specializations have gained ground, both in the North American market at large, and in Baton Rouge, specifically. While previously, corporations generally sought legal counsel who were a "jack of all trades," recent trends have pushed firms to seek attorneys with specialized knowledge who could better advise on niche issues. Today, corporations require attorneys that have extensive experience and contacts with government agencies and regulatory bodies. In today’s market, the following legal specializations are in high demand in Baton Rouge:
Energy law and regulation.
Given the importance of the energy sector to Louisiana and the Gulf Coast as a whole, lawyers specializing in the regulation of the energy industry are in extremely high demand. Legal work relating to energy will continue to be one of the fastest-growing areas of legal practice not only in Louisiana, but across the country.
Healthcare law and regulation
The second-fastest growing legal field in Baton Rouge is in the healthcare sector. As the baby boomer generation ages, and healthcare regulations continue to grow more complicated, healthcare-focused legal services will continue to see robust growth in the years to come.
Environmental and natural resource law
For many people, this could simply be a subset of energy law. Given how important Louisiana’s natural resources are to both the state and country as a whole, environmental law is also a high-growth area for law firms. As more and more companies are discovering the numerous loopholes and broken regulations that currently govern the industry, environmental law will continue to grow in importance.

Lawyer Employment Search Strategies

The job search process for lawyers is similar to that of many professional fields. That is to say, the best approach to launch or advance a legal career involves keeping the emphasis on career-building activity.
There are several effective strategies for finding job opportunities in the Baton Rouge area. These include leveraging your network, monitoring lawyer job boards, and making an active effort to stay engaged with your local legal community – through civic participation, charitable work, and continued education.
Job Boards . As noted above, lawyer-specific job search engines such as LawCrossing, and the job boards of the state and local bar associations are other great ways to find recent postings. When conducting an Internet search for jobs, make sure you focus on the area of "Baton Rouge." Note that listings are generally updated on a regular basis, and you may expect to find new opportunities on a daily or weekly basis. It is also becoming increasingly common for large firms and sole practitioners alike to post their opportunities on LinkedIn – so consider some of your efforts there as well.
Networking . It’s common advice among those looking for a new opportunity that networking is one of the most fruitful methods for uncovering prospects. While this might seem more intuitive for executives, even lawyers will find that a good network can open several doors that were previously unconsidered. A solid network of relationships includes old classmates, business colleagues, friends, and most importantly, former employers.
Continuing Legal Education . You’ll find that the greater your professional credentials, the more competitive you will be – and a personal commitment to continuing education is a key factor in the effort to develop your career. Of course, you may be required to participate in CLE to maintain your license, but you should view these requirements not as arbitrary hurdles but as a way to improve your career options and the most recent developments in your field. In addition to online programs, CLE courses can be found through the state bar and various other legal organizations.

Professional Development in the Legal Field

While the legal profession is currently facing a decline in employment expansion, Baton Rouge’s legal job market is continuing to grow at a steady pace. Law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies in Louisiana are looking for qualified candidates to fill positions related to the 2009 Legal Job Expansion. As one of the few large metropolitan areas in the country not to reduce its legal employment, Baton Rouge has seen growth in employment in areas such as litigation and corporate law practice.
ANALYSIS OF LEGAL EMPLOYMENT EXPANSION
The legal industry gained 14,700 positions from 2009 to 2013 (overall national legal sector employment has decreased 3,800 jobs during the same period as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Various government sources have revealed that Baton Rouge, Louisiana has experienced significant expansion during this time with increasing demand for attorneys and support staff (paralegal, secretarial, and law office management personnel). Louisiana is undoubtedly a good place for qualified candidates to look for employment opportunities in the legal field, particularly in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
LEGAL EMPLOYMENT GROWTH IN BATON ROUGE
From 2009 to 2013, there were nearly 1,500 new legal jobs created in Baton Rouge. Although employment growth declined in 2012, the following year, 2013, legal "nonfarm" employment grew by nearly 5% (which accounted for the creation of approximately 700 new jobs). For all of 2013 in Louisiana, approximately 12,000 new positions were added (note: there is currently no indication as to how many were added in BR this year) .
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE BATON ROUGE LEGAL JOB MARKET
According to a recent analysis of the Baton Rouge area legal market, one out of every 24 people has a job with a law firm or legal department. Job expansion is especially pronounced in paralegal and other support staff positions. As mentioned above, legal jobs grew in legal "nonfarm" employment by nearly 5% for 2013. This is significant considering the legal profession as a whole only grew by 3.1% for the same period. While major law firms are scaling down their ranks through reorganizations, smaller firms in Baton Rouge are growing and expanding consistently. Baton Rouge-based law firms that are focusing on "bringing top talent" are continuing to hire good talent. The Baton Rouge-Bayou Lafourche region has approximately 3,500 positions available for attorneys and legal support workers. The number of attorney openings is slightly above the national average. In the last two years, the most competitive fields for legal job opportunities in the Baton Rouge area have been: As with most new job openings, the best chance that qualified candidates have of securing these coveted positions is to find out where the job opportunities exist early enough to decide if he or she wants to apply. The other key to being first in line is having the best resume. The best way to get a head start on your legal career is to get your resume prepared now. It will give you plenty of time to research firms and organizations you might want to apply to.

Legal Education and Continuing Professional Development

Education and ongoing professional development are crucial components of any successful career in law. For prospective legal minds in Baton Rouge, options for law school are relatively limited compared to larger states and regions, yet both Tulane University Law School and Southern University Law Center provide a range of programs from Juris Doctor degrees to joint degree programs for those seeking a career as a legal professional. Additionally, if you are an admitted attorney in Louisiana, you have the opportunity to develop your skills further by taking advantage of local and state-wide resources.
Continuing legal education (CLE) is designed to aid legal professionals and attorneys in staying up to date on legal developments specific to the State of Louisiana. For instance, on the federal level, CLE must be obtained every three years for all lawyers practicing in federal court, while in the State of Louisiana, 12 hours of CLE are required annually for active Louisiana bar members. Furthermore, Louisiana being a civil law state, statute exploration and civil law-based courses may be beneficial to students and young professionals throughout their careers.
Fortunately, ranging from college level courses to online or live seminars, Baton Rouge offers many continuing education opportunities. Notably for many, CLE is relatively affordable, subject to fee reductions or even waiver through Louisiana State Bar Association (LBSA). Local providers of CLE include the LSBA, the Baton Rouge Bar Association, and the Institute for Continuing Legal Education and Development. The LSBA even provides a convenient online portal for on-demand and telephonic conferencing CLE not only for individuals, but also groups via the "Quality Video Conference" CLE platform. To begin expanding your legal knowledge and reap all of the benefits associated with increased personal development, seek out local or statewide CLE providers at your convenience.

Market Challenges for Legal Professionals

Like any other job, legal positions in Baton Rouge come with their own unique set of challenges. These hurdles, however, occur as one would expect in the world of law. Competition abounds, for instance, in the field of legal jobs in Baton Rouge, as numerous candidates tend to apply to the same positions. This can make it difficult not only to find a position that is exactly right but also to be one of the candidates who actually lands an interview.
Regulation changes can also prove serious to the stability of legal jobs in Baton Rouge. Even when a position is secured , legal professionals face the same stresses that anyone else in a highly competitive industry does. On the other hand, economic factors play some role in job security for legal professionals. As the economy goes up, so do the number of job seekers. Conversely, though, the need for legal support runs concurrently with a growing number of open legal jobs.