It was just heartbreaking. These are people we really came to know and respect as we advised them as students. Now they were either about to launch their careers or in the early stages of their careers, and to watch their dreams shift so quickly—often without warning—was pretty awful. We do this job because we care and we want to see people succeed. To see market forces take that away from them was really hard.

— David Diamond, assistant dean for career services at Northwestern Law, commenting on the emotional toll the recession took on personnel in his office after graduates’ dreams of careers as attorneys were dashed as deferrals, rescinded offers, and layoffs wreaked havoc across the nation.

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.