Questions of the latter type include:
"Is law school a doomed/stupid option - (given that article I read last Tuesday)?"
"Has the paradigm shifted?"
I want to address these types of questions. The norm (that makes sense to any rational person) is that the number of law school applicants spikes, when the economy takes a downward turn. Today, the economy ain't so hot, yet the number of applicants are no where near spiking...in fact, it's the exact opposite - the number of applicants are plummeting.
Perhaps law practice (in general) IS doomed. But as any good LSAT test taker knows there may be alternative explanations/conclusions to the evidence. While I agree with the pessimists that law school ain't the same, I disagree with the extremists that blatantly call all who apply to law school "naive idiots."
The law is here to stay. As long as we are a law driven liberal democracy, we will always need good lawyers to protect our rights. And as long as America is a capitalist society, businesses will need attorneys to help grow their profits. Lawyers are always going to be needed.
While some may argue that there are already way too many lawyers, I would argue that we don't have enough good lawyers. I recently volunteered as a poll watcher in Chicago. My good friend is the senior staff attorney of a large non-profit organization; he asked me to volunteer. I happily agreed. While I thought that the event was a success, I later learned that he had difficulty recruiting enough attorneys. Later he told me, "Dave, most law grads flock to the big law jobs, but there are so many industries and areas of life that need really good attorneys."
Look, my point is simple. If you are going to law school purely for the sake of making money, I would discourage you from going to law school. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be rich or wanting to make tons of money. But just as we are critical of medical students who got into medicine purely to become filthy rich, we are critical of attorneys who choose the law purely for the sake of making $160,000 right off the gate. Choose the law because you have an inherent passion beyond money. Think carefully and critically before you choose to invest $150,000+ into your grad school education.
In an odd way, I am sort of happy that the economy is the way it is. It's caused pre-law students to be more careful and cautious. For those who decide to apply to law school despite the big red label warnings (see here and here), good for you! I trust that you are intelligent enough to weigh your options and understand what you're getting yourself into. Don't say you haven't been warned. But also, once you've made the decision, don't let the party poopers ruin your dream/passion.
Perhaps law practice (in general) IS doomed. But as any good LSAT test taker knows there may be alternative explanations/conclusions to the evidence. While I agree with the pessimists that law school ain't the same, I disagree with the extremists that blatantly call all who apply to law school "naive idiots."
The law is here to stay. As long as we are a law driven liberal democracy, we will always need good lawyers to protect our rights. And as long as America is a capitalist society, businesses will need attorneys to help grow their profits. Lawyers are always going to be needed.
While some may argue that there are already way too many lawyers, I would argue that we don't have enough good lawyers. I recently volunteered as a poll watcher in Chicago. My good friend is the senior staff attorney of a large non-profit organization; he asked me to volunteer. I happily agreed. While I thought that the event was a success, I later learned that he had difficulty recruiting enough attorneys. Later he told me, "Dave, most law grads flock to the big law jobs, but there are so many industries and areas of life that need really good attorneys."
Look, my point is simple. If you are going to law school purely for the sake of making money, I would discourage you from going to law school. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be rich or wanting to make tons of money. But just as we are critical of medical students who got into medicine purely to become filthy rich, we are critical of attorneys who choose the law purely for the sake of making $160,000 right off the gate. Choose the law because you have an inherent passion beyond money. Think carefully and critically before you choose to invest $150,000+ into your grad school education.
In an odd way, I am sort of happy that the economy is the way it is. It's caused pre-law students to be more careful and cautious. For those who decide to apply to law school despite the big red label warnings (see here and here), good for you! I trust that you are intelligent enough to weigh your options and understand what you're getting yourself into. Don't say you haven't been warned. But also, once you've made the decision, don't let the party poopers ruin your dream/passion.
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