Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Seton Hall Law Cuts on Chopping Block?

"A Law School's Possible Purge of its Junior Faculty Ranks,"  by David Latt (Above the Law)

Money Quote: "Last week, we heard reports of one law school basically axing its entire junior faculty. All of the untenured professors received notice that their contracts might not be renewed for the 2014-2015 academic year. Ouch. As is so often the case, though, there's more to this story than meets the eye....The law school in question is Seton Hall University School of Law (#64 in the U.S. News rankings, and #36 in Above the Law rankings). The cuts are possible, not definite, and the school hopes that it won't have to follow through on the notices."

UPDATED (With Hat Tip to Adam B.)"Seton Hall Law School Cuts Faculty by 10%; Gives Notice to All Untenured Faculty of Possible Termination" by Paul Campos (Lawyers Guns & Money)

*****


Money Quote: "The caps and gowns have been folded and put away and the celebratory balloons have shriveled. But for law school graduates busy studying for the upcoming bar exam, the balloons aren't the only thing that's deflated: so are their chances of finding a job and paying down six-figure student loan debts, particularly for graduates of the state's two private law schools [Cooley Law School and the University of Detroit Mercy]."


And, later: "Cooley, which has its primary campus in Lansing and satellite campuses in Ann Arbor, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids and Tampa Bay, Fla., produced 1,079 graduates in the class of 2012, or more than the other four Michigan schools combined. Of those, 264 have failed to find work for an unemployment rate of 24.46 percent. The school also lacks employment information on an additional 9.5 percent of the class."

Given that Michigan is graduating 6.5 law students for every job opening, the numbers in this article don't look kosher to me and the writer didn't seem to grasp that these jobs included both barista and barrister. Even though the headline is a warning, I can see prospective students thinking 75% of grads found jobs as lawyers.

*****

"Legal Merger Shows Rise in Criminal Defense Status," by Peter Lattman (New York Times Dealbook)

Money Quote: "As firms struggle to increase revenue, they realize that representing business people behaving badly is good for the bottom line."

Big Law holds its nose and merges.

*****


Money Quote: "A first-time adjunct professor teaching a full course load at the City University of New York can expect to pull in around $25,000 per year. If you recently resigned as C.I.A. director over a long-time affair with your biographer, however, you can expect to be paid eight times as much for a fraction of the work."

Turns out CUNY couldn't nail down a donor for $50,000 of this so Petraeus is only going to make $150,000. But still, for three hours a week? Petraeus should have tried for one of those vacation home sweet-heart deals at NYU.

*****

"Higher Default Rates than Grad Rates," by Mary Beth Marklein, Jodi Upton and Sandhya Kambhampati (USA Today)

Money Quote: "More than 260 colleges and universities in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have students who are more likely to default on their loans than full-time freshmen are to graduate, an analysis of federal data shows."

Too bad they don't extend this study to law schools.

26 comments:

  1. Bwahahahahaha! The valvoline dean cant peddle enough of his "Seton Law Miracle Elixir"! hahaha. The former "associate dean" already ran to a provost position and abandoned the sinking law toilet. Here's hoping they shut the doors to the law school for good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Valvoline, why can't you be true?
      Oh, Valvoline,
      Why can't you be true?
      You done started sacking the profs
      You used to use.

      Delete
  2. The name's Lat. One T.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm waiting for the guy/girl who always posts things like "Steer clear of the vile stinking SeTTon Hall toilet!"

    Whoever that person is, they always make me laugh. Sadly, I'm guessing that grads of this school aren't laughing but are agreeing with this person's advice to stay away from the Seton Hall trap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sir:

      As a proud recent grad, I protest in the Strongest Possible Terms your use of Bathroom Humor to degrade my educational experience. My law student days were a moving experience and loosened my constipated mind to greater opportunities. I believe it was like receiving an intellectual Swirlee followed by a golden shower, and graduating flush with great possibilities. My degree is like Charmin –two-ply because it’s oh so versatile. And there are plenty of jobs both outside North America as well as in-Continent.

      So just put a lid on it, ok?

      Delete
  4. Nando should be here shortly. Once he's finished in the commode.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Too bad for the 7 fired non-tenured profs. Now they can go out into the working world and try to get a real job. Good luck with zero practical experience, no book of business, and only a folder full of useless articles on law & post-modern theory and heuristics.
    Maybe they can go the law school career center and wait in the back of a very long line. Hopefully the law school will publish honest statistics on ex-law-prof employment 9 months after termination.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear Indiana Tech is hiring.

      Delete
    2. Indiana wants me.
      Lord, I must go work there.

      Delete
    3. Agreed @12:33 PM

      Now they can find out how their students feel, precisely.

      Doesn't feel so good now, does it, when the shoe is on the other foot? These useless academics all love to claim how they could be making so much more in the private sector.

      Okay..

      Now go ahead and prove it.

      Delete
  6. At least, Patrick Hobbs is no longer "serving" as both the dean of the law sewer and interim Athletics Director at SHU.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Things have really hit a stride around here w/the departure of Adjunct Law Professor, huh? Keep up the quality posts.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great info here IMHO:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipI8p-HNHZU

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OK, I agree as far as it goes, but what is the responsibility of the lender? Why shouldn't the creditor be treated the same as any other creditor in a bankruptcy setting? Why does an education lender get a pass and not have to evaluate the degree program that is being proposed by the borrower and whether that is a good investment that is likely to be paid back? Why doesn't the lender have to build a default rate into their pricing structure?

      Delete
    2. And since they call education an "investment" why don't education lenders have to qualify the investors the way folks who sell stocks and bonds are required to? Goad a small investor into borrowing themselves into oblivion to put $150K into a high risk investment with little chance of paying off and you'll be hearing from a plaintiff's lawyer when it hits the fan.

      Delete
    3. "Why shouldn't the creditor be treated the same as any other creditor in a bankruptcy setting?"

      Because discharging student loans makes Bankruptcy Jesus cry. Repent, welshers!

      Delete
    4. ^ Um, the same reason that you can't discharge your back taxes, perhaps?

      You owe the money to the U.S. government. It is a unique, exotic type of loan - one that permits undercapitalized students without assets to borrow THOUSANDS of times more than their net worth.

      You actually think such a loan should be "dischargeable." Why don't you see if anyone will lend you $300K to gamble in a casino?

      See the difference?

      Delete
    5. ^ Hey 5:06, why don't you post your contact info and offer to pay off people's student loans yourself? You are a generous spirit when you are playing with everyone else's money.

      Honesty begins at home, right? Right?

      Delete
    6. This INDENTURE Witnesseth that Special Snowflake, a Law Student, doth Voluntarily put himself Servant to SallyMae to serve the said SallyMae and its Assigns, for and during the full Space, Time and Term of Twenty (20) Years from the first Day of the said Snowflakes’ arrival in the Profession, during which Time or Term the said SallyMae and its assigns shall and have the right to obtain the first fruits of all labor from said Snowflake, over and above Meat, Drink, Apparel, Lodging and all other necessaries befitting such a Servant, and at the end and expiration of said Term, the said Snowflake to be made one bitter Fuck, and receive middle class status, if any then existing according to the Custom of the Country, if any then existing.

      In Witness whereof the said Parties have hereunto interchangeably put their Hands and Seals the 6th Day of July in the Year of our Lord, Two Thousand Thirteen. (signatures)

      Delete
    7. 6:30,

      The video advocates for the government to get OUT of student loan guarantee business because it is distorting the market for borrowers. I said in response it is also distorting the market for lenders. If lenders had to evaluate whether the person and educational program were likely to pay, you would not see all this "sub-prime educational lending" going on.

      Taxes are dischargeable after ten years.

      Delete
    8. "You actually think such a loan should be 'dischargeable.' Why don't you see if anyone will lend you $300K to gamble in a casino? See the difference?"

      Here's what I see. Getting a college education used to be affordable. Even a person of limited means could get a bachelor's degree at a public university without taking on a load of student loan debt. Gradually, public policy shifted toward students bearing a heavier financial burden, until now attending a university requires taking on mortgage-sized debt.

      We, the taxpayers, are perfectly willing to make loans to college students, knowing damn well that may of them won't ever have the ability to repay. And it's WORSE than a casino, because we don't raise our kids to believe that gambling $100k-plus in a casino is a "wise investment." It should be obvious to any rational person that taking on mortgage-size debt to finance a college education is an untenable risk, yet everyone from parents right on up to the president continue to insist that our young people should step right on up and play this ridiculous game.

      So why don't we stop pretending that "the taxpayer" is some wholly innocent party in all this. If "the taxpayer" wants as many people as possible to go to college, and "the taxpayer" wants that goal to be financed by people with questionable ability to repay, then I'd say that "the taxpayer" ought to bear the risk of default.

      Delete
    9. "Hey 5:06, why don't you post your contact info and offer to pay off people's student loans yourself? You are a generous spirit when you are playing with everyone else's money."

      Hey yeah, because you can't support the idea of bankruptcy protection unless you're willing to personally assume all the debts yourself. What irrefutable logic! You're changing hearts and minds, Bankruptcy Jesus!

      Delete
    10. Student loan systems were always a bad idea. School should be free and seats regulated by the government.
      But during the sub-prime mortgage scam, banks sold loans knowing borrowers couldn't repay, but that debt had a house behind it. What's a diploma? Are you saying the bank and college are absolved of all responsibility?

      Delete
  9. borrowers will always borrow. watch what the lenders do. that is the essence of understanding predatory lending.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I had a look at how much faculty this poorly ranked school has. 82 full time faculty according to Wikipedia. But this doesn't count adjunct faculty which are listed on Seton's website. About a hundred by the look of it, I couldn't be bothered counting them.

    So about 180 part and full time faculty for 892 students (again according to Wikipedia). This just seems excessive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's because all of the non-T13 law schools exist solely to provide cushy employment for the top grads of the T13 (and the rare top 1% grads from other schools) who become law professors.

      Delete