When I was in law school, I worked part time as a clerk in a large firm. Most of the other law clerks were recent law school grads who couldn't find attorney jobs in law firms because there were no jobs available. That trend has gotten worse. The big firms take the top 10 percent of the top 50 law schools. The next 50-70% of the graduating classes go to medium and small law firms. The bottom 10-40% (depending on the law school) try to hang out a shingle and try to make a go of it as a solo practitioner.

I've seen dozens and dozens of solo practice attorneys in my area get out of law school and try to start a solo practice shop, and then disappear within a few years. If you end up with massive student loan debt from law school and don't get a high dollar job immediately, it's hard to stay in the field long term.