Crises Spell Higher Income Opportunities For Lawyers

New York, NY (AHN) - While thousands of professionals like bankers and finance experts are now on a job-hunting mode as a result of the crash of Wall Street, the ongoing global credit crisis is proving to be a financial blessing to many lawyers.

Beginning with the mortgage crisis, demand for attorney's services went up as homeowners battled foreclosure proceedings. The bankruptcy proceedings of firms require legal counsels, while those who have lost money in banks and investment firms hired lawyers to file fraud lawsuits.

A major driver to the large volume of legal work waiting to be done is the $700 billion federal rescue package.

Other services where legal advice are needed include questions on deposit security and credit access by ordinary citizens and personnel layoff by companies that plan to downsize.

But Michael Dorff, associate dean and law professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles is cautious that even if the future appears to be financially bright for the legal profession, tough times are also ahead for lawyers. Dorff said that many of the lawsuits that will arise out of the crisis will be difficult or impossible to win because willful misconduct or failure to fulfill fiduciary responsibilities must be proven. He added defendant banks, brokerages and investment houses could argue they were caught unaware by the tsunami that hit the financial industry.

Aware of the opportunities waiting for the legal profession, some international law firms have established response teams specializing in assistance to clients on how to cope with the credit crisis.