The AALS has just released a study of 22,000 undergraduates and 2800 1L's in its effort to better understand what leads people to choose (or not choose) to pursue a JD. Karen Sloan at the National Law Journal reports on the study. Here is some of the juicy stuff:
Half of the undergraduates considering law school have at least one parent with an advanced degree, despite the fact that only 12 percent of people between 45 and 65 nationwide have such a degree. Put another way, applicants from economically privileged backgrounds comprise a disproportionate of the law school applicant pool.
Undergraduates who are interested in an advanced degree report seeing more information on campus about master’s degree, Ph.D.s and Masters in Business degree than about law school, and say their college professors talked about those programs more than a J.D.
The overall cost of a law degree and poor work-life balance were the reasons cited most often by undergraduates for potentially not going to law school, and the three-year length of J.D. programs was another common deterrent.
Location was the most important criterion for choosing a school, according to the first-year students. But the other criteria shifted according to Law School Admission Test scores. Those with scores of 165 or higher were more concerned with the status and prestige of campuses, while respondents with lower scores weight bar pass rates and overall costs more heavily.
Law school comes on the radar of many students quite early. More than half of law students begin thinking about law school before they get to college, and a third consider it even before high school.
As a practicing attorney out three decades, I would be torn asunder if a young adult asked me if they should attend law school. I would tell them that it is a noble profession and it is the rule of law and a lowly prosecutor who is saving our democracy. You would represent the Rule of Law. On the other hand, my income is 1/3 of what it was before 2007 and my blue collar dad made more money during the 80s than I do today as an attorney. The profession is totally over saturated with lawyers. I know experienced guys who run around to court houses just for a $150 fee on a traffic violation. Being a lawyer is not a given path to a middle class lifestyle.
Posted by: Brett Kavanaugh Macho Macho Man Association of America | September 20, 2018 at 10:26 AM