About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

42 J.L. & Educ. 575 (2013)
Rethinking Lawsuits against Law Schools: Graduates Must Overcome Significant Hurdles to Prevail against Alma Maters

handle is hein.journals/jle42 and id is 587 raw text is: Rethinking Lawsuits Against Law Schools: Graduates Must Overcome Significant Hurdles to Prevail Against Alma Maters I. INTRODUCTION Recent law school graduates currently face what could be described as the worst entry-level legal employment market in more than 30 years.' According to analysis from the Wall Street Journal-based on figures from the American Bar Association (ABA)-only 55 percent of 2011 law school graduates were employed full-time as lawyers nine months after graduation.' Those students fortunate enough to gain employment are finding that they have to accept even lower starting salaries than students received just one year earlier.' Despite the dismal job market, law schools continue to increase their tuition at alarming rates and accept the same number of students for each incoming class. The average student loan debt for law graduates at private schools in 2011 was nearly $125,000, while the average for graduates of public law schools was over $75,000.4 The class of 2011 wound up with an average of over $98,000 of debt, which is a 200 percent increase from 1987.1 1. National Association for Law Placement, Law School Grads Face Worst Job Market Yet - Less Than Half Find Jobs in Private Practice, www.nalp.org/uploads/PressReleases/ Classof2011ER5SSelectedFindingsPressRelease.pdf I (June 7. 2012)(hereinafter NALP, Law School). 2. J. Maureen Henderson. Why Attending Law School Is The Worst Career Decision You'll Ever Make, http://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/201 2/06/26/why-attending-law- school-is-the-worst-career-decision-youll-ever-make/ (June 26, 2012). 3. For graduates of the class of 2011, more salaries were reported in the $40,000-$65,000 range, and fewer were reported at the $145,000 or $160,000 level. than for graduates in 2010. See National Association for Law Placement, Median Private Practice Starting Salaries for the Class of 2011 Plunge as Private Practice Jobs Continue to Erode, http://www.nalp.org/ uploads/PressReleases/Classot2011SalaryPressRel.pdf I (July 12. 2012)(hereinafter, NALP. Starting Salaries). 4. Debra Cassens Weiss. Average Debt of Private Law School Grads Is $125K; It's Highest at These Five Schools, http://www.abajoumal.com/news/article/average-debt load of-private law-grads-is_125kthesefiveschoolslead-to m/ (Mar. 28, 2012). 5. LawCrossing. Market Outlook for Legal Profession Jobs in 2012, http://www.1awcrossing.com/article/7362/Market-Outlook-for-Legal-Profession-Jobs-in-201 2/# (accessed December 18, 2012). 575

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most