tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660083024919144793.post860342011788867223..comments2024-03-28T10:56:31.720-06:00Comments on Outside the Law School Scam: "The New Normal": A Warm Welcome to Our 60 New Readers from Weil GotshalUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660083024919144793.post-2970967424004088862013-06-26T05:21:40.242-06:002013-06-26T05:21:40.242-06:00"Law school developed to serve that market an..."Law school developed to serve that market and economic model. The overproduction of lawyers is only now just getting press because the revolving door is literally stuck."<br /><br />No, it didn't. Law schools have evolved in response to changing theories among elite law professors and lawyers. They came to believe two things, since the 60s-70s:<br /><br />1) that America had too few lawyers -- too many people couldn't afford their services. The way to solve this was to massively increase the number of lawyers.<br /><br />2) That America had too few lawsuits. This conceived of lawsuits as beneficial social problem-solving. Eg, America's personal injury lawsuits served the function that was filled in Western Europe by welfare systems and unions. The US needed more. More lawsuits = more social problem-solving = better country. Therefore more lawyers are needed.<br /><br />(You can trace the development of these ideas in law review articles going back decades. I don't remember the references unfortunately.)<br /><br />I know for a fact these ideas developed. I am highly suspicious they influenced the ABA's accreditation spree and increasing admissions among existing schools. Someone should write an article tracing more clearly the development of these hare-brained ideas and their impact on the ABA and function of law schools.<br /><br />--JimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660083024919144793.post-89720220047691738972013-06-26T03:56:58.099-06:002013-06-26T03:56:58.099-06:00"No, this ain't just the Obama economy or..."No, this ain't just the Obama economy or a 2008 recession phenomenon. It's been happening for years."<br /><br />Clearly, you're not a Most Excellent Professor of Law who can understand nuance and statistics and just blame it on the recession/cyclic economy like I've seen at Prawfs or TFL.<br /><br />Keep in mind that the 3-year-spitout worked out fine for most academics and you can probably see why they gloss over the long-term problems.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660083024919144793.post-2968408488131237002013-06-25T22:45:19.764-06:002013-06-25T22:45:19.764-06:00Lord, I can't go back there.Lord, I can't go back there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660083024919144793.post-5763857168305043222013-06-25T22:21:05.400-06:002013-06-25T22:21:05.400-06:00writing was on the wall when this article came out...writing was on the wall when this article came out a few years ago.<br />http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/04/the-death-spiral-of-americas-big-law-firms/256124/<br /><br />the money quote<br />"During the early and mid aughts, firms built unsustainable business models that survived off the froth flying from Wall Street. Now, many have become too bloated to change course and adapt to a new era in business."<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660083024919144793.post-19529275240106443692013-06-25T20:48:08.408-06:002013-06-25T20:48:08.408-06:00BigLaw and MidLaw have been using young lawyers as...BigLaw and MidLaw have been using young lawyers as bottoms for YEARS, and dumping them as soon as the work flow slows down. It's a revolving door.<br /><br />Firms used to be able to perform this ritual with far less (if any) public scrutiny, and then able to portray it as cleaning house of defective, nonperforming associates. The fault was wholly the associate's. Today's news, while extreme, is nothing new. Call it the Cravath model, "up or out", or "eat what you kill", it's standard fare in the profession.<br /> <br /><br />THIS is the scam. <br /><br />The vast, vast majority of the rare jobs in the legal 'profession' are 3-4 year stints, at best. The fact that law schools vomit forth plenty of new cannon fodder each year enabled this procedure to flourish. Each year witnessed something similar to this, though not perhaps on this scale.<br /><br />Folks, lose the focused hatred of Law School and focus on the vile Law Profession that it's long served. Law school developed to serve that market and economic model. The overproduction of lawyers is only now just getting press because the revolving door is literally stuck. Today, it's 'Up or Out ... with no possibility of Up.' The heartbreak and destruction and waste referenced in the OP have been ongoing for decades. <br /><br />Thank God for these Blogs. At least today, the truth can began to be voiced. No, this ain't just the Obama economy or a 2008 recession phenomenon. It's been happening for years.<br /><br />2008 brought it to a head and you're just now seeing it discussed in public. Thank God for these blogs. <br /><br /><br />The profession was on a "downward trajectory" in 2001. Today it's in freefall. Getting today's young lawyers counseling is pointless. They committed suicide years ago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660083024919144793.post-17461895036956799302013-06-25T20:12:40.618-06:002013-06-25T20:12:40.618-06:00The Technological Singularity is almost upon us. T...The Technological Singularity is almost upon us. There is no hope.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660083024919144793.post-25395547125932514272013-06-25T20:05:29.446-06:002013-06-25T20:05:29.446-06:00"Indiana wants me!""Indiana wants me!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660083024919144793.post-68999930107184048002013-06-25T19:17:15.054-06:002013-06-25T19:17:15.054-06:00The fact that the legal economy is in decline is a...The fact that the legal economy is in decline is a very important point, as is the imbalance between the supply of lawyers and demand. If you are going to law school, you are entering a troubled industry that right now is on a downward trajectory. You are in the wrong profession, to put it another way. Most of you are going to suffer and suffer greatly for being in the wrong profession.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com