======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ==== ======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ====
Do you want the truth? You can’t handle the truth. Liberal studies undergraduates dead set on law school to give their degree some perceived value received a rough report this week from none other than the American Bar Association. While you might have a better shot getting in to law school now, Matlock, don’t get your hopes up quite yet for a job after you graduate.
The American Bar Association has reported that, “law school applications for the fall of 2013 have dropped 17.9 percent.” In theory, this ease in competition should be good for the future Daniel Kaffees of this world. The ABAjournal is even reporting that “students with less-than-perfect test scores are now admitted to top law schools.”
Incredible, right? Well, not so fast, Jack McCoy. If a school full of lawyers can be counted on to do anything, it’s manipulate situations to their advantage. Law schools are cutting down on class sizes to make up for the decline in applicants, so no you can’t completely slack off on your LSATs.
Also, included in that same report is that “more than two out of every five 2011 graduates did not obtain a full-time, long-term job requiring a law degree.” For current law students looking to pay back their $200,000 in law school loans, these statistics are particularly horrifying. Legal jobs are actually expected to increase by 10% over the next decade, yet there are still too many would-be Harvey Specters out there trying to fill the positions.
Something is obviously wrong with both the legal market and the current educational setup. However, while media members, legal blogs, and judges alike continue to criticize law schools while offering proactive solutions such as more practical training and internships along with less theoretical research, changes are slow to come.
Does this mean you shouldn’t go to law school? Well, that’s for you to decide. The world always needs lawyers, I guess. If you do go, you should try not to be awful at it.
[via The Epoch Times]
Respond
@RogerSterlingUS
The problem with legal jobs expanding in the next decade is that the market shed so many jobs between 2007-2013 that the growth is simply not enough to employ the 40% of grads without suitable employment.
As if anyone but the top 10% of grads from the top 20 law schools had stellar prospects to begin with.
I love this guy. He sounds exactly like my ex-boyfriend. Even the user name.
Law school is only a good investment if you go to a top 14 school. If there werent so many people going to bottom tier schools, the legal market wouldnt seem as dire.
Yes, the commonly referred to “top 14.” Do you think this guy goes to the #14 school on some bogus ranking list?
id hope not because georgetown has shitty employment stats too
No, I went to a top school in my region, since this is where I want to practice. My choice of school actually got me my current job. Each year, my school’s USNWR ranking is somewhere between 50 and 80.
Additionally, as is pretty well known, law school is not really about preparing you to be an attorney or even pass the BAR. Its just another business.
Makes me so happy to read this. Don’t go. Just don’t do it.
Holy shit, this is an indicator that our education system is working!