5 Reasons Not to Get a Law Degree

Should you go to law school?
Faced with a dreadful job market, plenty of young college grads are considering law school. But should they spend the money on a law degree?

For most young grads, the answer is a resounding no. At least that's the conclusion you could easily draw from a lengthy story in The New York Times on Sunday. The article, Is Law School a Losing Game?, provided a devastating look at how law schools market themselves and manipulate their employment statistics to make their law degrees look like a great investment.

Why You Shouldn't Get a Law Degree

From a variety of sources, I've pulled together 5 reasons why you should not get a law degree:

1. Law schools are misrepresenting their grads' job success.

According to the article in The New York Times, schools appear to be cooking their employment numbers to do better on US News & World Report's rankings of the best law schools. The real employment numbers are grim.

2. There's a lawyer glut.

This attorney glut could remain even if the economy improves. The number of law schools in this country continues to grow which is creating an even bigger pool of unemployed lawyers. As one law observer put it: Today American law schools are like factories that no force has the power to slow down- not even the timeless dictates of supply and demand.

3. The cost of law school is high.

Law school costs are obscene. For the top 10 law schools, the price is more than $43,000 a year. Far less prestigious private law schools charge prices that aren't much less. According to the American Bar Association, the average private law school cost $34,300 a year in 2008 and for public schools the cost is more than $16,800 annually.

4. The expense of a law degree doesn't pencil out.

Many students will have a hard time recouping their law school investment. Even the American Bar Association has acknowledged this reality in its paper, The Value Proposition of Attending Law School, that it has posted on its home page. The ABA is warning college students to reconsider law school.

It's also a topic that Herwig J. Schlunk at the Vanderbilt Law School focused on in a paper entitled, Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be...Lawyers.

Many law school grads are struggling with six-figure law school loans. The average private law school student borrows $91,000, while law students attending public school borrow an average of $71,400.

5. You might not be a lawyer for long.

While there isn't a lot of data on how long attorneys stay in the profession, it isn't uncommon to change professions after five years.

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Law school image by Joe Gratz. CC 2.0.
Lynn O'Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution and she also writes for TheCollegeSolutionBlog.

[dbpagenkopf]

I respectfully disagree with the conclusions of the article. While the five reasons listed are challenges within the profession right now, these are not reasons a person should not be a lawyer.

The first reason speaks about the dishonesty in roughly 12 of more than 200 law schools in the United States. But the complaint is premised on the idea that a school should be stating up front that a job out of law school is a guarantee. In essence, an applicant is supposed to look at the graduation/employment rate of School A and compare it to School B and be able to somehow receive a guarantee of employment. But what job market is able to predict three years out how their students are going to be able to access employment. The statistics are a ruse, and ethically they are being challenged. There is a host of litigation over this.

The problem is, this is not a reason not to be a lawyer. While each school falsely advertising its graduation/employment rate should be besmirched for their deeds, that does not relate to the practice of law. Law schools are for learning to think like a lawyer and to prepare for passage of the state bar exam. The ABA is very strict with each accreditation and a law student at an accredited school can rest assured that their choice will still lead them to the successful practice of law. Schools that behave unethically are being threatened with a loss of accreditation. So reason one is flawed. It would be like telling someone not to go to business school because less than 10% of business schools are being honest with their advertising. Find a school that is accredited and do a little research to see if they are among those accused of false employment statistics. You cannot get through law school without learning how to do a ton of research, so get started now.

The second reason stems from the first. Yeah, the economy is not great, especially for lawyers. It also isn't great for automotive sales, retail and a number of industries. The writer is presuming that because it is hard to find a job means there are no jobs out there or none to be created. The great thing about becoming a lawyer is that you can hang your own shingle in the absence of someone else providing a job for you. I am not shocked that a writer from CBS is under the impression that people are entitled to a job just because they have an education. However, it is no one else's responsibility that you have a job. It is your responsibility to either find one or go an make one. The American idea is that there is a possibility of working hard, taking risks and then receiving a reward, not the other way around. Lawyers are needed in every industry in addition to the local, state and national government. Wherever someone wants accountability for a wrong, a lawyer is there to either argue for compensation or punishment, or they argue in defense of a person or entity that is accused of that wrong.

For the third and fourth, it is too simplistic to say that a law degree costs a lot and takes a long time to pay off. I am unable to think of any fields of graduate education that are provided for free. Rather than tell a host of people that there is no reason to become a lawyer, why don't we look at the cost of all education. Undergraduate and graduate loans are enough for any person, let alone a law student, to reconsider. This is not law school specific. Under this logic, I might as well have never gone to college. Personally, it took me ten years to pay off the undergrad loans before I started law school. Medical school is not cheap either. Should an aspiring med student forego his dream because of the high cost and the fact that it may take a very long time to pay it off? Further, many of the "lower tier" schools are taught by those who attended the "higher tier." So, part of the reason the cost is the same is because, in truth, the education is the same.

Lastly, just because some people decide to quit does not mean that one should not do something. Certainly, some people do not like the law profession. I don't like working for non-profits or insurance. But the difference between law school and a number of other graduate level programs is the marketability of a law degree. A law degree is an invaluable education which touches upon any and every industry. It, like medicine, business, food and shelter is necessary for the operation of a civilized society. Lawyers have been called on in good times and bad to assist with advocating for every major cause since the founding of this country. In fact, a lawyer is responsible for advocating for and writing the First Amendment which has enabled this article to be written and distributed without fear of oppression. Advocating for any individual aspiring to the profession of the law to disregard that goal because it is hard insults the ability of an individual to rise above difficult circumstances and utilizes fear to persuade.

[Jennifer_2012]

If you're thinking about becoming a lawyer, you should try talking to someone who is a lawyer.

You can find people in different professions who are willing to talk to you and give you advice for free on askapeer.com

[xiansahd]

There are plenty of degrees to choose from - check out www.degreesfinder.com, and avoid getting stuck on making a law decision right away.