Jobs for Lawyers?

Small world, Sarah. I’m an attorney currently practicing in Philadelphia and I am looking to move to St. Thomas as well (I am a mid-level finance associate though, so hopefully we won’t be competing for any positions). So far I’ve only come across one opportunity and I found it through my law school’s job bulletin board of all places (I went to VLS). Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to pursue the position at the time. I’ve since saved up so that I can make the move at the next chance I get. Other than that, I haven’t found anything – I’ll pass on any specific leads I do find, could you do the same?

Generally, I’m sure you’re aware that the USVI is in the third circuit. I think Judge Brotman (District Court, Camden) travels there often. Anything you could do to network with him might help. Other than that, I’m curious as to how certain you are as to what areas of law you want to practice. Given the size of the market, your options will be limited (sorry for pointing out the obvious – my point is just that if you really want to go, you might not be able to find both Crim and Employment law positions, if either. And, not to patronize, but I think it is very hard to know what you want prior to actually practicing.).

I’m not sure that the above advice is worth much, but I will watch for any 1st year positions I come across in my own search. Good luck!

Thanks Michael.

I'll try to get into contact with that judge, and if I hear of anything I'll let you know. We both go to Temple, but a friend of mine is going to 'Nova.

I know that it will be very difficult to find jobs in the areas where we are interested, which is why we're probably just dreaming about moving there.

I know it's tough to decide in which area to practice, but I think we're pretty set on where we want to start out. We've both worked in a few different areas to get a feel for what we like. This past summer, I interned at one of the county's DA offices, doing many prelims every day, and I loved it. At this point, I'm only looking at jobs where I can litigate almost immediately (so DA & PD offices and very small firms). I'm not expecting to make very much in the money department, at least for a while.

The good, and not-so-good, is that the VIs have a decent amount of crime. It also appears that criminal defense attorneys are frequently court-appointed (I'm not sure if they're used just for conflicts or if there is a PD office). I can't find what types of fees they receive for the appointments, but I figure that a small defense firm might want a new attorney, who's not asking much in pay, to take some of those cases off their hands.

My fiance has been working in employment law for over a year now, and wants to try that out for a while or possibly work for a tax firm. I think finding him a job, which is probably more important than find one for me, will be more difficult.

Plus there's the issue of the bar. We'd have to decide if we want to take the PA bar in July and take the VI bar in February, or just the VI bar this summer. I doubt we could find jobs before we've passed it down there (I know the places I'm looking at up here won't usually offer jobs even on a contingent basis).

Anyway, thanks again for your post. I'll let you know if I hear anything.