The nationwide slump in the job market for law school graduatesis due not only to the recession, but to the overhiring that occurred during the 1980s, according to Jane Thomson, career services director at the UC Davis School of Law. Like their counterparts across the country, law students at UC Davis are feeling the effect of the downturn, reflected in a lower number of graduates having jobs lined up and a drop in the number of law firms that have expressed interest in visiting the campus next fall. Some of the hiring boom in the 1980s may have exceeded the actual business needs of many law firms, and the current slump is, in part, a retrenchment from that period, Thomson says. "It's clear the bubble has burst everywhere." If the slump has any benefits, it may be that students are compelled to get more involved in researching and planning their careers, Thomson adds. At the height of the hiring boom, she says, "Students were much more likely to take the easiest option. Now, they're more realistic about their choices, and may end up in jobs in which they're happier."