Rising Bar Tabs and An End To Tenure?

Rising bar tab draining law school grads
Money Quote: "How would you feel if you spent well over $100,000 on law school, only to have to spend an extra couple of thousand dollars on a course to get you to pass the bar?"

Cooley Law School weathering decline in enrollment
Money Quote: “We set aside a fair amount of money to weather what we thought the storm would be. Our only concern is how long this lasts.”

An end to tenure at law schools?
Money Quote:  “The demand for legal education ebbs and flows. Sometimes we get more customers, sometimes less ... As a manager with a budget, I want the ability to respond.”

Two Law School Administrators Disciplined For Fudging Job Numbers
Money Quote: "Some administrators likely will view Pless and Sargent as isolated cases. Others might see the disciplinary actions as ground  to increase oversight of the reporting process..."

War Chests and About Faces

LSAC reports another drop in law applications
Money Quote: Applicants are down 12.3% and applications are down 17.9% from 2012.

33rd student gets into Indiana Tech the day before the school opens
Money Quote: "We’ll take him."

Case Western curriculum undergoes sweeping changes
Months after his shameful New York Times editorial, Lawrence Mitchell is boasting of "radical" changes in the curriculum.
Money Quote: "I have to admit I stole shamelessly..." Oh wait, that whole quote is "“I have to admit I stole shamelessly from the medical school because it puts students in the role as soon as they can." So close, Larry.

The "Brain Drain" in American Legal Education continues

For good or ill, the "quality" of an applicant to American law schools is almost completely based on two numbers: their LSAC-adjusted undergraduate GPA, and their LSAT score.  Combined, those numbers predict future success in law school and bar passage.  (Whether or not UGPA, LSAT score, law school grades, or bar passage rates have ANYTHING to do with the quality of someone as a lawyer will not be addressed here, but it is what it is.  You are what your numbers are when it comes into which law schools are likely to accept you).

The decline of applications and applicants to law schools over the past few years is well-documented and known.  Some of the latest raw numbers from LSAC can be found here.  Total applicants this year number just below 60,000, which I believe are 5-6 thousand higher than some estimates done by Paul Campos a few months ago (but don't quote me on that, if someone has some estimates post them in the comments and I will update this post to reflect that).   The distribution of those who have stopped applying to law schools are not spread evenly throughout those on the LSAT spectrum.

Attack of Wikipedia!

I have an easy suggestion for anyone that wants to take two minutes to "do something."  I know this is anathema to the general tone of this blog and the law school scam movement, such as it is.  I know that most people feel that the moneyed interests are too powerful to oppose, and so we should just keep the word alive about the law school scam through comments and blogs.  Fair enough.

I have a suggestion that is pretty much in line with that stated purpose.

A Reader's Personal Story

(This was sent via email, and is posted anonymously at the author's request.  These stories are always welcome, and are one of the most effective ways of making law school applicants realize that there are real faces and ruined lives behind our message.)

 

The following is a rite of passage for thousands and thousands of Lemmings. It is intended as a road map for the challenges facing young law school graduates.

As a fresh law school graduate, you may be fairly optimistic, sending out resumes and cover letters, going to networking events, contacting your former law school classmates who found jobs, etc. You’ve attended your law school graduation and your parents may have even sprung for a vacation as a present. You have moved back in with your parents but it's a temporary thing until you get full-time attorney job. Or maybe you have a girlfriend with a job and you two are starting to get serious. "Things will be much better once you can show you've passed the bar," gushes the nice lady from the Career Services Office in an e-mail. You are kind of annoyed that you don’t have a job lined up, but you know a lot of people graduated without jobs, so you’re doing ok for now. You spend a lot of time studying for the bar, then take it and pass. Whoo-hoo! You’re a real lawyer!

After a few months of doing the same thing (sending resumes, researching companies, seeking contacts at companies and law firms), a vague unease seeps in. You’re unemployed, and all the resumes you send out disappear into a black hole. Your high school and college buddies commiserate, but they are pretty busy with their own jobs. And besides, who wants to be around someone who has no money and mopes about trying to get a job? A law degree is versatile, you tell yourself. I need to think about expanding my job search. Maybe in a couple of months I’ll start to consider flyover country.

Your parents start inquiring gently about the format of your resume or maybe at the possibility of stooping to temporary work. After all, an able-bodied adult should be able to get some kind of work, shouldn’t they? Work instills a sense of dignity and self-worth. You spent $120,000 on this degree and were taught by the brightest minds in the nation, so there must be a place in society for you? Your Dad suggest you highlight your high school babysitting gigs as proof you would be a good fit for family law. You start really stretching the truth on your resume, and every resume is tailored specifically to the job description. You spend hours honing your LinkedIn profile and making connections.

Maybe you notice or maybe you don't, but you've started drinking more and getting up later and later. You're cutting back on social engagements because you are simply running out of money. If you live with your girlfriend you might notice a certain distance has opened up between you. It’s not enough that you notice it every day, just that she seems distant at times and wants to go to the gym more. (You can’t afford that gym membership!) The loans are coming due soon and the lack of interviews or even contact from potential employers has become an uneasy feeling at the back of your stomach. A few months ago you started responding to Craigslist legal job ads, but you haven’t even gotten an acknowledgment.

You are still attending local bar events, but you notice a wary look in peoples’ eyes as you approach them. Deep down you know they can immediately see right through you. You know they get nervous about your flattery and attention, and really just want to get out of any conversation as fast as possible. After all, they are clinging on to their $50K/year jobs and don’t need another potential competitor at the firm.

The special snowflake melts

At about the 6 month mark the fear starts to take hold. You know from the news that many companies and law firms won’t even take a second look at someone who has been out of work for 6 months. Your confidence is coming under serious attack. You say to yourself: “I took the Criminal Law clinic in law school and got an A in Civil Procedure, so I know how to write a complaint. I can add value if they would just give me a shot. Why aren’t they giving me interviews?” You schedule a few more mock interviews with the people at the Career Services office, but find them useless.

If you were a non-traditional student, you start thinking about getting back into your previous line of work. You quickly discover that no one will take a second look at you because of the 3-4 year unexplained gap on your resume. You feel like you have been shut out of your previous career and have zero opportunity going forward. It’s like being stranded in a long dark hall with a lot of locked doors. By now your girlfriend has dumped you or your relationship is on the rocks. Either way, you are now solidly in your parents’ basement.

And now the loans are coming due. You sporadically check the “exclusive” job board on Simplicity, but there’s never anything new and all the jobs require years of experience you don’t have. Entry-level attorney jobs just don’t seem to exist. You might have wandered into the career services office again, but that turned out to be a mistake. After all, they only exist as a dating service for the top 5%, and they have fresh students to worry about. Your e-mail account at your law school has expired and you start getting e-mails from the alumni board asking for money. After all, you went to the 61^st top ranked Toilet, so you must be making $160K, right?

Wrong. You have been reduced to taking on odd jobs for your parents. You can’t even take unemployment. The other young people you see in your neighborhood all seem to be getting on with their lives.  You look up the bios of your classmates and are disappointed that a number of them seem to be at law firms. You sink deeper into depression. After all, these people didn’t do much better than you and had abhorrent personalities. Or maybe it’s you? Maybe you interview badly? Maybe you’re not attractive enough, or young enough, or articulate enough? You have definitely lost confidence and it shows. The stench of failure clings to you and you often feel like you’re being choked. That uneasy feeling in your stomach from a few months back has become a constant pain. If you can afford a doctor, you are put on antidepressants and maybe the occasional benzo.

From 6 months out, things just keep getting worse. Your grooming habits keep slipping. You have cancelled your mobile phone service. You now think it’s OK to wear sweatpants to the local coffee shop and idly sit there all day. Months ago you “expanded your job hunt” to include anywhere in the country pretty much doing anything, but you get the same results; zero callbacks, zero interviews, not even an acknowledgement that they received your resume. You start becoming bitter and increasingly estranged from your friends and family. You can’t even enjoy having the time to do whatever you want. You see no way out.

I wish I could say it gets better but it doesn’t. This is the reality for hundreds of thousands.

Law Professors in Luxury: The SEALS Shindig at the Breakers in Palm Beach.

(Thank you, law students, for treating 800 of your most cherished law professors to a week of galas and fun-in-the-sun at one of America's poshest oceanfront resorts).

You may be one of those tender-hearted JDs who worries about injustice and inequality in our profession. Perhaps it troubles you that law professors are underpaid with their meager six-figure starting salaries. Or perhaps you can't stop fretting about how law professors are cruelly overworked with their burdensome six-to-nine hour per week teaching loads, plus the expectation that they publish an article every other year or so that nobody will ever read. Fortunately, I can offer you this bit of comfort-- these worthy educators do, sometimes, obtain tiny little perks and treats to compensate them for their immense sacrifices, such as routine five-figure summer research stipends, and such as free week-long summer vacations at the Breakers resort in Palm Beach, Florida. 

 

As described on its website, the Breakers is a "spectacular resort destination on Florida’s Atlantic coast." The site adds that "The Breakers Palm Beach, has lured generations of discerning travelers to its idyllic, Italian-Renaissance setting. Experience the irresistible charm and storied history of this legendary oceanfront resort, which seamlessly blends with an amazing range of modern amenities. Feel the allure of its glamorous yet classic ambiance, the warmth and care of its devoted staff...you will quickly discover why The Breakers is a peerless destination, well beyond what you would expect of the finest luxury hotels and beachfront resorts in North America."  According to the hotel review site Oysters.com, "the sprawling 140-acre resort feels more like a Renaissance palace than a hotel."

 

From August 4th through August 10th, approximately 800 law professors and law deans from all over the country assembled for the Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) Conference at the Breakers. According to the conference program, the professors held many fascinating panels, workshops, colloquia, and discussion groups. The overwhelming majority of these two to three hour sessions involved ten to twenty moderators and discussants, so it is unlikely that the participating law professors found their scholarly preparation to be too onerous.

Without Comment - Chapman gets $55M donation, renames school

Enjoy.

http://www.nationaljurist.com/content/chapman-gets-55m-donation-renames-school