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How would you like to get paid to stay home from work?  If that sounds appealing, perhaps you should look into law school.  Many law firms are asking their new hires to stay home - with pay!  That’s what’s detailed in this CNNMoney article on Yahoo Finance.  Sounds like a sweet deal to me!

The article states that because of the economy, over 100 large firms have delayed the start date for a portion of their first-year associates, in some cases to 2010.  This is in contrast to the recession in the early 1990s, when offers to new hires were rescinded.

Some students have been offered hefty stipends of up to $80,000, and even full benefits in some cases.

“The firms want to keep these people and don’t want to lose them,” explained Andy Stettner, deputy director at the National Employment Law Project.

Some 10,000 jobs have been lost in the law sector this year, so this “paid vacation” might look appealing.  Not to everyone, apparently.  Many of these new lawyers are eager to start their careers in order to start paying off student loans.  The $80K may not be enough to cover the cost of living in an expensive city.  In some cases, it’s not exactly a vacation, either:

Some have a catch - that incoming associates are required to spend their deferment working at a non-profit or for one of the firm’s pro bono clients.

This gives the students the opportunity to give back to the community.  You could look at it as a greater donation of legal services by the law firms to help those less fortunate.  I wonder, can the firms get a tax break for saying the now-show money represents the value of the pro bono work?

Personally, I’ve never been paid to not work.  In fact, many companies, mine included, require you to work a certain amount of unpaid overtime.

How about you?  Have you ever been paid to stay home?

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