InfiFLAW

UPDATE:  I shoulda done a little more "research", as the shills/haters like to say!  Nando did a nice takedown of this awhile back, and wanted to bring this up as well. 

http://thirdtierreality.blogspot.com/2009/12/three-law-schools-owned-by-one-company.html

My comments follow:

Well folks, now they are not even trying to cover over the motive behind producing unnecessary JD candidates.  Academia and Corporate Profiteering have merged:

http://www.infilaw.com

In any tough market, consolidation takes place.  We’ve seen it in multiple industries, be it banking, defense contracting, or telecommunications, to name a scant few.  As the applicant pool of marks becomes harder and harder to mine, welcome to the rise of the “law school consortium.”

InfiLaw's mission is to "establish the benchmark of inclusive excellence in professional education for the 21st Century."   This mission is supported by three key pillars (1) centering on “serving the underserved,” (2) providing an education that is "student-outcome centered," and (3) graduating students who are "practice-ready."

All laudable goals in principle, but why now, all of a sudden?  The “underserved” meme has been beat to death already, but again, what “underserved” market are we talking about, and why do more URMs need to be bilked out of their future income potential?  There are already 200+ ABA approved law schools that have flung open their doors for decades – does this not provide adequate “access?”  How is adding yet more JDs, served or underserved, to the oversaturated legal market “student-outcome centered?”  And let’s be honest - nobody cared heretofore about “practice-ready” until the applicants wised up to the cost-benefit analysis and the law schools realized they had already picked all the low-hanging fruit.  Practice-ready does not magically create market demand in any event.

A brief glance at the Executive Team shows a variety of backgrounds: former CFOs, MBAs, VPs of HR, and high-level Marketers, to name a few.  Does this sound like a crowd interested in producing “legal scholarship,” defending “liberty,” or pursuing “ justice?” No way.  This is pump-and-dump to the max.

The entire management team is Six Sigma certified and committed to a culture grounded in personal humility and vulnerability-based trust.  The organization models itself upon principles set forth by leading experts on productivity, employee engagement, personal growth and development, and process excellence.

Blah blah blah TQM blah blah blah Six-Sigma blah blah blah Kanban blah blah blah Just-In-Time manufacturing.  Please.  Give us all a break.  Stop insulting our collective intelligence.  All the MBA-speak in the world does nothing to cover up the fact that this is about making money on the backs of marks.  Period.  On a personal note, having actually worked as an engineer had having actually used “six-sigma” methodologies and the like, it burns me to see these jackals spew this nonsense, as they clearly have NO IDEA what they are talking about in the first place.  But it “sounds good” and garners credibility, so whatevs.

 InfiLaw is backed by Sterling Partners, a private equity firm with over 25 years of experience partnering with organizations in building market-leading enterprises.

If you needed any more evidence as to what this is really about, look no further.  Sterling Partners will expect a handsome ROI.  Coffee is for closers. 

Turning to the schools themselves, the members of the consortium are Charlotte SOL, Florida Costal SOL, and Phoenix SOL.  Thanks to tireless efforts by the fine folks at Law School Transparency (who are doing God’s work, I might add),  let’s take a look at the “student outcomes”:

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=charlotte

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=floridacoastal

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=phoenix 

Wow.  Blech.  $200k+ sticker-prices for stomach-churning outcomes.  If you need yet more information, I believe Nando has a thing or two to say about all these schools over at Third Tier Reality.

Prospective 0Ls, run away.  Please, I am begging you.  If you have the money and social connections, then by all means go to a T14 law school.  If not, there are many other things one can do with one’s life, be you fresh out of undergrad or an experienced non-traditional student.  These other vocations are not mere consolation prizes.  Find something else to do that will not leave you with a millstone of student debt around your neck and no appreciable opportunities. 

The people behind Infilaw, and their member schools, view you as an income stream – nothing more.  Listen to the commenters on this blog and many, many others – there is no profit motive here in trying to direct you away from the mistake of the worthless JD.  No one makes money trying to convince people NOT to do something or NOT to buy a product.

Higher education has morphed from a public good into a corporate-backed commodity.  As such, respond in kind and vote with your pocketbook.  Avoid this madness.