Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Missing the big picture...

Like most current law students, I flip through “The National Jurist” when I'm bored It is usually right there between classes. One of their features is called “Good and Bad.” In this feature the editors name people or institutions who had either a good or bad month and why. Apparently, January was a good month for prospective law students. Before you get too excited, I checked and this does NOT mean that they are shutting down TTTs, lowering tuition, or providing more transparency in employment statistics.

According to the National Jurist, prospective law students had a good month for two reasons: the University of Delaware announced that it hopes to enroll students in a new law school by 2015, and Kaplan is going to open up a law school in Washington, D.C. Because when I think of American cities and metro areas that don't have enough law schools, D.C. is the first city to spring to my mind. And Delaware... while I'm not 100% familiar with the Delaware market, I know that in addition to Widener the Philadelphia area law schools send a fair number of their graduates to Wilmington. So I'm not sensing a huge unmet need for lawyers there.

Neither of these two stories are breaking news, but this is just an example of how out of touch people in the industry really are. Just because it will now be easier for prospective law students to get into law school does not mean that is a good thing for them. So I guess among other things it was a bad month for long term perspective.

In case anyone is curious, it was also a good month for “World Domination” due to the ABA considering accrediting foreign law schools. And no, I'm not being sarcastic.

NOTE: I could not find the “Good and Bad” feature online. It could be that it is only in the hard copy of the magazine.

15 comments:

  1. There was good news for law students in January: December LSAT takers were down to 42,096 from 50,444 in 2009 (-16.5%). I believe this is because people are realizing that law school is a bad investment. Odd that the National Jurist didn't report it.

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  2. Prospective law students had a good month because The New York Times article gave them the rationale they needed to trust us scam-bloggers and finally choose to do something else with their lives.

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  3. Sorry, Rose, but I think your post shows how out of touch you are. Have you seen what the people who run law schools make? Do you realize that no matter how many schools open, there will be suckers standing there with the federal loan applications waiting to hand you big wads of dough just for the right to sit there and listen to some clown ask a bunch of questions but tell nothing that will ever be useful in making a living?

    I'm planning to open a law school in the burned out grocery store that's been sitting empty for the last 10 years. Don't need a library with westlaw and my buddy is going to open the student book store.

    WE'RE GONNA BE RICH

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  4. If oversaturation is the good news, what the hell's the bad news?

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  5. I agree that law school (and higher education, generally)is currently NOT in the best interest of many Americans solely because of the long term lingering costs of school loans. Something needs to be done to stimulate education AND provide relief to those former students restricted from progress by the golden handcuffs of school loan debt. For many, the cost of higher education is not worth the price. However, I am of the mindset that the "Educated Stimulus" plan could provide relief while simultaneously stimulating the economy (without significantly adding to the debt). It is not nearly as exciting or desirable as full student loan forgiveness, but it is a reasonable plan that the Parties may actually agree on. Find the details and contribute to the discussion at http://www.educatedstimulus.com. The website is an attempt to promote simple ideas to preserve our future. (After complaining about the problem for so long, I am finally trying to push my solution. I only hope those who daily sculpt our generation's future will daily seek our generation's input. Also, congratulations to you on turning your idea to stimulate education and the economy into such a strong moving force!

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  6. The ABA will accredit just about any proposed law school. It also includes JDs and attorneys working as bouncers, bartenders and grocers as "employed."

    We are seeing attorneys take on cases for $300, from beginning to final disposition. The ABA has permitted outsourcing of American legal discovery.

    This ceased being a "profession" years ago. The NaTTTional Juri$TTT is simply a paid mouthpiece for the industry. The magazine has the substance of a Taco Bell soft taco.

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  7. @ Nando:
    Regarding the Taco Bell soft taco; according to a recent ad campaign, the seasoned beef in a Taco Bell soft taco is, in fact, 88% beef. Fatty, greasy, nausea-inducing beef. Huh, the analogy still works.

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  8. I dedicate this law school recruitment video to you and your blog. Keep preaching the truth! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RtHywad7Vo

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  9. 1/26 @ 9:19 pretty much nailed it.

    All I can add is graveyard rain in the form of damp, clammy and unhealthy and unpleasant, slow death and consumptive mist--

    Because you see--even if they open up a new school--for a year--and are then shut down while scooping up their filthy money---

    For a year----40K in tuition times 300 hapless and lost and damned and misguided law school students--kids that are really seriously raped and pillaged--

    *****(except for the few plants or ringers)

    That is 12 Million US dollars instant CASH!(Borrowed from the Chinese Government)

    Dear Children, unless you are well set up beforehand--

    Please for the Love of a Merciful God! DO NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL!

    PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!

    DER GOD HELP MY DYING INDEBTED PIECE OF SHIT SOUL!


    PLEEEEEESE!

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  10. The delusion continues it seems. Hopefully the free market takes care of itself and people begin to realize that law school is in most instances a terrible investment. Grass roots sort of movements like your blog will help and now that the major media outlets are starting to catch on (to some extent) that may help as well. When philosophy majors are earning more on average than law graduates then you know something is wrong (no offense to philosophy majors, but it is held up as a general example of an unpractical modern degree).

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  11. Law schools are there to serve corporate America and law firms, i.e., the employers of law graduates. They benefit the most.

    Also the law school faculty and administration benefit as well thanks the the high tuition.

    This argument also applies to higher education, where the main beneficiaries of higher education in general, and law school in particular, are the faculty, administration and corporate America, not necessarily in that order.

    Whether the students and graduates benefit is of course never the main goal.

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  12. I work for a big national bank, and I despise them because they are extremely self-serving. The management at this major national bank is extremely smart, intelligent and well-educated ... in fact too smart for the average American.

    They utilize a combination of laws, internal policies, media coverage, and social mores/cultures to control both their employees and the market they serve.

    Management is too smart, too intelligent and too ruthless for the average citizen in the market.

    Beware of big national banks. I have been in this industry too long.

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  13. I am an attorney with a litigation firm in Los Angeles that is seeking law school graduates who were misled by their law school regarding the prospects for obtaining post-graduation employment. Specifically, we are interested in law school grads who have been unsuccessful in finding employment as an attorney and have more than $75,000 in debt from any of the following schools: Southwestern, Chapman, Golden Gate, Santa Clara, La Verne, Western State, Fullerton, Thomas Jefferson, Cal Western, University of the Pacific (McGeorge) and University of West Los Angeles. Please call me at 877-671-9879 if this applies to you.

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  14. To the above,

    Would it be possible to sue US News & World report and get a changed system of ratings?

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  15. The only way to succeed in law school and its unique Socratic method of teaching is to experience it – to invest countless hours with professors in a classroom environment.

    law school

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