LSAC and Predicting Law School Applicants for 2016-17, Part 24

The LSAC is now reporting that "As of 05/20/16, there are 335,605 applications submitted by 52,363 applicants for the 2016–2017 academic year. Applicants are up 1.2% and applications are up 1.7% from 2015–2016. Last year at this time, we had 93% of the preliminary final applicant count."  The last post in this series is here.  The next post in this series is here.

Comments

[Captain Hruska Carswell, Continuance King]

The problem is that many professors and Deans believe they are making a tremendous sacrifice in the name of public service when they compare themselves to an Equity partner at Jenner or Sidley. However, the fairer comparison should be to us Solos, Micro-firms and the legions of unemployed attorneys which comprises the vast majority of the legal profession. For me and thousands and thousands of other legal practitioners, you guys are fabulously wealthy.

[Anon]

And the comparison of Law Professors to Solos or Partners is relevant to the posting above because......?

[Captain Hruska Carswell, Continuance King]

Greater numbers of students would enroll if tuition and fees would go substantially down. Law School for many folks, me included, is/was not a good ROI (financially). Law Professor and Administrator Salaries should reflect what a neighborhood, store front solo earns. More than fifty percent of the legal profession are solos and micro-firms. The Paul Campos data suggests earnings from 35-40K per year for the median solo. A few years back, a Solo like me earned a nice, sustatinable, middle class income with a pipeline of volume work. To attract the "best and brightest" law schools and court systems had to be "competitive" with the private sector (Solos) and offer six figures with pensions. Not today. Government and Law School jobs are now the high earning gold standard. You guys won the "lottery." I got the financial booby prize. Compensation needs to come down to reflect reality on the street.