Recently a friend of mine passed this article onto me, and it stuck very close to home.
“Is Law School a Losing Game?”
by David Segal
“In reality, and based on every other source of information, … a generation of J.D.’s face the grimmest job market in decades. Since 2008, some 15,000 attorney and legal-staff jobs at large firms have vanished… Associates have been laid off, partners nudged out the door and recruitment programs have been scaled back or eliminated. …
But improbably enough, law schools have concluded that life for newly minted grads is getting sweeter, at least by one crucial measure. In 1997, when U.S. News first published a statistic called “graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation,” law schools reported an average employment rate of 84 percent. In the most recent U.S. News rankings, 93 percent of grads were working ― nearly a 10-point jump. …
[But] … a law grad, for instance, counts as “employed after nine months” even if he or she has a job that doesn’t require a law degree. Waiting tables at Applebee’s? You’re employed. Stocking aisles at Home Depot? You’re working, too.” ”
…
The article goes on, in great length, the way law schools have been manipulating the numbers because numbers effect rankings, and ranking effect enrollment, and enrollment effects the entire university. Twenty five new law students are worth $1,000,000 in tuition. But if each law student in turn ends up with $250,000 in debt, it’s no wonder the law professors in this article reporting feeling dirty and unethical.
For me, though, the article was important because it finally put a believable face on the fact that I am not the lone 2009 grad still looking for work and struggling to make ends meet, even if it feels that way. I am also not alone in the $175,000 of loans I took out, or the now $250,000 I owe because of a year and a half of deferment, sans work.
It does seem that I am, however, alone in believing that there is value in a legal education beyond the lure of $160,000 a year job. (Because, let’s be realistic, that kind of salary is rare.) So in case the Times doesn’t decide to publish my letter – here’s what I had to say:
[Edit to add: I was indeed published on 1/15/11, but in case you missed the Letter, here is my full submission.]
Misplaced Value
I wanted to shine another light on the article “Is Law School a Loosing game?” by David Segal. While the quoted grads are upset with false promises and “lost wages”, they are ignoring the true value of their J.D. To be a lawyer is to be a civil servant, helping those that cannot help themselves for lack of an education. Some make millions, while others make a real impact in peoples’ lives. I truly feel that I am a better person, and a better citizen, for investing $250k of my future in order to advocate for my friends, my family, and a budding group of clients. I thank my lenders for giving me the chance to do what I could not do on my own as I turn around and help so many others. The cost may have been high, but the value of my education is priceless.
Nicole L. M. Jurkowski, Esq.
2009 Grad, Solo Practitioner, and Waitress
(c) Nicole L. M. Jurkowski 2011
Entertainer @ Law 