Every year more than 50000 new students enter law school. However prospective law students should be aware that recent investigation suggests the likelihood of law employment is significantly decreasing.
Before considering law school interested students will find it worthwhile to read a recent New York Times article. It cites a Northwestern Law study that shows a loss of 15000 attorney and legal jobs since 2008 with an increasing trend of outsourcing legal work in order to keep costs down.
Additionally prospective law students deserve to know that law schools’ measure of “graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation” does not accurately reflect the jobs available for lawyers. Some law schools even create temporary work for unemployed graduates that conveniently happen to coincide with the nine-month mark. The National Association for Law Placement says only 26000 of the 44000 juris doctorate earners each year find legal work. Because student loans can reach up to $2500 studies recommend that graduates should earn about $65000 a year in order to manage their debt. This is not possible in all legal jobs — public defenders typically earn $40000 to $50000 as a starting salary.
Law schools have also adjusted their statistics by moving students with lower LSAT scores into part-time programs to increase the school’s rankings which misleads prospective students about the strength of the program.
Furthermore the number of new JD degrees earned has increased by 11 percent from a decade earlier. Given that law schools have an incentive to keep costs down and garner more tuition dollars by increasing class sizes and that nine new law schools have opened in the last 10 years it is easy to see where the overabundance of would-be lawyers comes from. As these numbers continue to increase and the available positions continue to decrease law school begins to look less and less like a profitable investment.
Some propose limits on class sizes or the number of new law schools built. I would rather see individuals intelligently assess the odds of sufficient post-JD employment rather than assume that they will come out at the top of the law school bell curve or that the market will significantly adjust.
Now that the statistics have exposed law schools it is essential for students to carefully consider their options before making such an important investment in their future. Exposure blogs like “Shilling Me Softly Rose Colored Glasses” and “Subprime JD” are highly recommended for more information.
Prospective law students are looking for a degree in critical thinking and persuasive skills. However I assure you that your critical thinking skills are far more adept if you can persuade yourself that law school is not worth it.