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Bankruptcy Lawyers

Employment Prospects

Employers

Bankruptcy lawyers are employed by law firms or run their own firms that represent debtors. Others work for creditors, trustees or lending institutions, and corporations or other organizations that need help renegotiating loan agreements to avert bankruptcy or filing for bankruptcy.

Starting Out

New lawyers usually work as assistants or law clerks to experienced bankruptcy attorneys. (Some aspiring lawyers first work as paralegals at law firms before entering law school.) At first they do mainly research and routine work. After a few years of successful experience, they may be promoted to junior partner, or they may go out on their own and specialize in bankruptcy law. Other choices open to the beginning lawyer include joining an established law firm or entering into a partnership with another lawyer.

Law firms and other employers often recruit new lawyers directly from law school. Job leads can also be found by joining local and state bar associations or the American Bar Association (ABA). Legal Web sites offer job listings. The ABA Web site, for example, posts employment opportunities and job fairs in its Career Center (https://www.americanbar.org/careercenter). The employment and staffing firm, Robert Half, also provides job listings for lawyers including bankruptcy lawyers (https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/job-details-all). Additionally, large bankruptcy law firms often post job listings at their Web sites.