http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119040786780835602.html?dlbk
When I worked at an elite law school a few years back, one of the concerns among the administration, which extended to other private law schools, was the increasing cost of tuition, which then triggered the enormous starting salaries at the biggest law firms. To the top students, it was exciting to get that big salary in recognition of a job well done in law school and of a promising future.
But it wouldn't take long to realize the strings attached. The law firms were more than willing to pay exuberant salaries, but in exchange they expected the newly minted lawyers to work unbelievable hours to earn their keep. The sad result would be that many lawyers would be burned out within five years. They just couldn't keep the pace. Understandably they wanted a life.
That was the impetus for many of these schools to ramp up their philanthropy. If they could get a lot of scholarship money, they could offer it to the students, who then wouldn't be so saddled with debt.
The Wall Street Journal article, titled "Hard Case: Job Market Wanes for U.S. Lawyers," tells me the situation hasn't improved much since I left my job. Top law students still garner top wages, which now hover around $160,000 for new positions, but I bet they still have to work those unbelievable hours.
But what sounds worse are the job prospects for the lesser ranked students or students at lower tiered schools. Some of them are graduating with that same amount of debt but don't have the salaries to offset it. The article points out that many students are upset at what they consider to be misleading law school marketing claims as to graduates' job offers and salaries. It seems it just boils down to there are too many lawyers for the good jobs available.
I am sure law school deans and administrations and the ABA are concerned and working to help alleviate the problem in whatever way they can. Maybe they need to enroll fewer law students??? That would not be a popular solution, but it would help with the supply and demand situation.
My situation is that I am ranked in the middle of my class and am not at a top school. I have the beautiful situation in that I am not going to be looking for a law job, however, and will at some point be heading my family's company. My plans right now is to use my law degree in connection with the company and in volunteer work.
But reading this article makes me think how I would be feeling if I didn't have these opportunities. People still tend to think that a law degree is a license to make a lot of money, and apparently that is not necessarily true anymore. If I didn't already have my career plans, I am sure I would be worried. I have no doubt I would find a job, but it might not be one that paid well.
One thing I do have to say though is that I didn't really enter into law school to get rich (even though the idea of being better off certainly entered my mind) but entered school because I felt like law was a calling of some sort. If you enter law school for that reason, you won't be sorry. You might just have to hustle a little more in the job arena.
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