Monday, June 17, 2013

TASTES GREAT? OR LESS FILLING?

"Two-Year Law School? Don't Rush the Paper Chase," by Martha C. Nussbaum & Charles Wolf (Bloomberg)

An opinion piece arguing that the University of Chicago Law School curriculum model developed a century ago by political science professor Ernst Freund, where law students do not simply learn practical legal skills but also economics, sociology, political theory and philosophy, is a model that is relevant and should continued to be followed in the face of a push today for a two-year practical curriculum. Nussbaum/Wolf argue that students now arrive at law school shackled in undergraduate debt and law schools were slow to offer financial aid because they were sending students out to remunerative careers. Nussbaum/Wolf claim that law school deans are working hard to raise money for scholarship aid that will help them get ahead of the curve so no law school curriculum adjustment is necessary.

Not to surprisingly, Martha C. Nussbaum is Ernst Freund distinguished service professor of law and ethics at the University of Chicago and Charles Wolf in a University of Chicago law-school graduate and a shareholder at Vedder Price PC in Chicago.

TASTES GREAT!
*****

"OU, Cooley plan helps students earn degree faster,"  By Diana Dillaber Murray (The Oakland Press)

Money Quote: "[Cooley's Auburn Hills campus Associate Dean John] Nussbaumer said no limit has been put on the number of students who will be accepted under the program [whereby a student spends three years at Oakland University plus three years at Cooley Law School and graduates from both in six years instead of the traditional seven years]."

LESS FILLING!


*****


Money Quote: "Peter Alexander is tired of explaining it. But the question keeps coming up: Why does Indiana need another law school? Alexander is the dean of the newly created law school at Indiana Tech. And after a new set of statistics came out this month, showing again that there are, perhaps, more lawyers than needed, Alexander was again asked about it. He is adamant: It's not about the number of job openings versus the number of law school graduates. It's about the quality of the law school graduate. And Indiana Tech's new law school will turn out high-quality graduates, making them necessities in any market, he said."

At least this reporter put the Indiana Tech dean's feet to the fire, unlike the reporter in the Cooley piece who basically wrote a puffy ad for the school.


*****

"Student Loans are Big Business for Government," by David Jesse (Detroit Free Press)

Money Quote #1: "The U.S. government projects to make more money off student loans this fiscal year than ExxonMobil, Apple, J.P. Morgan Chase or Fannie Mae made on their respective businesses last year, a new analysis shows."

Money Quote #2: "Jonathon Whaley's loan payments suck out about $750 a month from his bank account. The 25-year-old Grand Rapids resident is paying off both federal and private loans. His private loans charge him 4% interest. His federal loans charge him 7%."

"'Because the government has almost ensured anyone who applies will get the loan they need, schools have been able to drive prices up with no concern as to where funding will come from,' Whaley said. 'With prices skyrocketing, students are taking on way more debt than they can handle but have no other option to compete in the modern economy.'"

"Whaley, a compliance manager/attorney at an investment firm in Grand Rapids, took out about $250,000 in loans to finance his education at the University of Dayton and Ave Maria School of Law."

"'I was lucky to fight through a terrible job market and scrape by enough money to make my loans a burden and not a killer. However, I have dozens of friends who are not so lucky.'"

"'The government needs to remove itself from the student loan industries or else it will continue to destroy my generation.'"

*****

"Faltering Economy in China Dims Job Prospects,"  by Keith Bradsher and Sue-Lin Wong (New York Times)

Money Quote: "A record seven million students will graduate from universities and colleges across China in the coming weeks, but their job prospects appear bleak -- the latest sign of a troubled Chinese economy....Graduating seniors at all but a few of China's top universities say that very few people they know are finding jobs -- and that those who did receive offers over the winter were seeing them rescinded as the economy has weakened in recent weeks."

15 comments:

  1. I enjoy these news roundups. The schools are FAR MORE concerned with massive fundraising campaigns for capital improvement than they are in raising money for student scholarships.

    Hell, Fordham University is in the midst of a huge, $1.6 billion renovation. Of that amount, $250 million is being devoted to the new law school building and undergrad dorms.

    http://therealdeal.com/blog/2011/01/18/fordham-university-begins-construction-on-new-250m-law-school-dorm-building-in-lincoln-center/

    “Fordham University has broken ground on its new School of Law and residence hall, the school announced today. The 22-story building, a $250 million development on 62nd Street between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, will house the university’s law school on the bottom nine floors, including classrooms, a trial court facility and a 562,000-volume law library. The remaining floors inside the 468,000-square-foot building will be used as dorms for up to 430 undergraduate students. The building, which is scheduled to open in fall 2014, is part of a larger, $1.6 billion redevelopment of the school’s entire Lincoln Center campus. The entire project is slated to be completed in 2033.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With that $250 million, Fordham Law School could have given 100% full 3-year scholarships to every single one of its 1500 students.

      Delete
    2. Nando I hate to do this but YOU ARE STILL THE KING!

      Luv your blog, luv your comments, luv your scam busting attitude.

      And I especially love it when you talk about punching these goons in their snouts and balls.

      100% endorsed. Awesum.

      Delete
  2. "...Alexander was again asked about it. He is adamant: It's not about the number of job openings versus the number of law school graduates. It's about the quality of the law school graduate. And Indiana Tech's new law school will turn out high-quality graduates, making them necessities in any market, he said."

    Yep, because the other four law schools in Indiana all turn out deplorable $h!t for graduates. Every year. Clearly. And Indiana Tech is going to save us all from this horrible fate and lack of quality legal access.

    Jesus, what a scam. They're not even trying anymore. Fill the goddam seats!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is time to elevate this platform to another level. Do you want to fight fire with fire and beat these sonsofbitches who go by the title of "Law School Dean?" Show up to your alma mater on orientation or the first week of class with a sign around your neck that says "Class of 20__ graduate. Would you spare some change so I can make my monthly loan payment to Sallie Mae?" This movement needs to take a guerilla tactics strategy. So enrollment is down. Big deal, the deans are lowering standards and keeping class sizes the same. Take it to the next level and beat these scam artists at their own game.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The lemmings will keep flocking to their doom, the law schools will keep doing whatever it takes to maximize their income. The root of the problem is the un-capped federally-guaranteed graduate school loans. What will it take to convince the federal government to rein these in? Put a meaningful limit on these and the entire bloated legal education edifice will crumble.

      Delete
    2. You can scream about this until your face is blue - no takers. I wanted to have people anonymously put fliers on parker cars outside of LSAT testing sites - no takers.

      As always, I repeat my same request for help. If anyone wants to help with anonymous projects, I have some ideas. We can leave the issue of "outing" ourselvrs until another day.

      Delete
    3. Anon 509 - I agree w/ the limit. 20-25k per year per student sounds reasonable to me.

      --Jim

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    4. ... or is the root of the problem people TAKING those loans?

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    5. JeffM, people take those loans because the Federal government makes it possible for banks to offer them by guaranteeing them.

      The root of the problem is thus Federal govt guarantees, without which banks would not be offering any or nearly as much loan money.

      The ideal solution to this root problem is to abolish the Federal student loan guarantees.

      However, that's politically impossible. So the next best solution, not the ideal root-fixing solution, is to get the Fed govt to say: "Ok as long as we're guaranteeing these loans, students cannot take out too much".

      --Jim

      Delete
  4. Touro has a similar plan with a Florida university for a six year undergrad and law degree. This is the next step of the scam -- attempting to lock people into the law school track early on. I do not know why a person at the beginning of undergrad would foresee himself attending Cooley...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Makes you feel good and you self-identify as an attorney.

      Delete
    2. Touro? They'll probably get a lot of interest from tiny little roaches who think a law degree means free money for doing no real work.

      You can't cheat an honest man.

      Delete
  5. How dumb can you get? You can get a college degree in three years by taking 20 hours per semester rather than 15 - and you wouldn't even have to lock yourself in to Cooley Law.

    ReplyDelete