In case you have not seen it, this is a piece by the Economist on the structural changes affecting the law firms and the hiring market: http://www.economist.com/node/18651114?story_id=18651114&CFID=163785925&CFTOKEN=86351817

'All this took a toll on the labour market. After a dozen years of growth, employment in Americas law industry, the worlds biggest, has declined for the past three years (see chart 1). The 250 biggest firms, according to an annual survey by the National Law Journal, shed more than 9,500 lawyers in 2009 and 2010, nearly 8% of the total. Many also deferred hiring, leaving new graduates in a glutted market. Legal-process outsourcing firms, which do not advise clients but do routine work such as reviewing documents, put further downward pressure on the demand for their talents.'

Great article, complete and providing a good overview of the structural changes affecting law firms worldwide.

BigLaw Lost Nearly 10K Lawyers in Last Three Years
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/biglaw_lost_nearly_10k_lawyers_in_last_three_years/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email

This article was in last months ABAJ.

US legal industry added 1,500 jobs in April after two consecutive months of decline.

http://www.biglaw.org/news/show/5042/us-legal-industry-adds-1500-jobs-in-april

I have been reviewing job boards for the past four months and my observation has been that the market has reopened for attorneys who have 5-10 years of experience in certain fields of law. The 0-2 market is slim.