Afew years ago, when Pamela L. Zdunek began considering a return to the legal profession after a 21-year absence, the economy had just tanked. A career counselor told her even recent Harvard Law School graduates couldn’t get jobs as paralegals, much less lawyers with 20 years of experience. “Needless to say, that was a bleak time for me,” she said. “I just didn’t see how I would ever get back into the legal profession to practice — and certainly not at a firm.” About a …