<p>Greybeard, thanks for the piece from Salon.</p>
<p>LakeClouds – Agree the dean’s analysis was weak and interesting he did not cite Case Western’s placement rate? Case would be a good test for the marketability of solid law schools with good regional reputations, but not close to T14. </p>
<p>The one thing I did agree with the dean about is the cynicism fostered by media outliets like Above the Law. I do think there was value in emphasizing the long view and also think the dean should have talked about “out of the box” thinking and the idea that a legal career need ot begin or end with a Top 200 law firm. </p>
<p>One thing I do not know since back in 1989 when I graduated form Duke law (great market then) is whether or not the law schools have started seeking out non-legal employers in finance and education, among otherws, and legal employers with the government and non-profits. Very little of that took place back in the late
1980s, but times have changed. </p>
<p>Also, when I went to school, the small market firms basically got shut out (think Cleveland (other than Jones Day), Detroit, Kansas City etc). Have any of them been recruiting “up the ladder” in this environment?</p>
<p>Well, of course a law school dean will argue that the education they offer is worth every penny. After all, they are salesmen who sell their services to potential customers. (students) The very reason they have a job at all is because they are able to recruit many misinformed students, eat their tuition money, and spit them out the other end after 3 years. There is nothing wrong with that, except it is wrong to present misleading employment statistics to sell your stuff. For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t touch any law school ranked outside top 30, even if I got a full ride to attend. What good is law school education if I just wasted 3 years of my life and no job at the end?</p>
<p>For years, law schools got away with blatant fudging of employment statistics to lure potential students. Nowadays, that is slowly changing due to the public outrage regarding the issue.</p>
<p>I’ve said it throughout this thread - law school is not the only hazardous educational investment one can make in U.S. The problem is that the level of tuition in U.S. has FAR exceeded the rate of inflation. Yet, number of entry level jobs has actually been going down over the years, as a result of increased outsourcing, contraction of economy, and increased supply of college/grad school grads. </p>
<p>Buyers be ware and alert. Whether it’s college education, PhD, Masters, MBA, law school, whatever, research thoroughly on ROI, risks involved, and only pursue education if you are sure you can benefit from it. Education has become so expensive in this country that it has essentially become more of a gamble on someone’s financial and career prospects.</p>
<p>So if I dont go to Law school, how am I supposed to not be doomed to making crap money fr the rest of my life? I dont like STEM related things, they bore me btw.</p>
<p>“So if I dont go to Law school, how am I supposed to not be doomed to making crap money fr the rest of my life? I dont like STEM related things, they bore me btw.”</p>
<p>This is one of the reasons I went to law school. The STEM related things, that is.</p>
<p>btw: you might want to do some research…and you will undoubtedly find that there are literally thousands upon thousands of lawyers “making crap money.” Heck, there are thousands of newly minted JDs who are making no money, i.e., they don’t have jobs.</p>
<p>Work on being a little more open-minded and toward developing an image of yourself that you can sell to people in the corporate as well as the public world. Attitude development may be something worth looking into, as it will inevitably have a profound effect on your life success.</p>
<p>Let’s also realize that not everyone has to work inside an office in order to have a successful career. One of my office co-workers with a college degree and years of professional experience left to work for an expensive restaurant as supervisor. Now, he owns his own successful restaurant within that chain.</p>
<p>Are there any very good reasons (like a profile of the perfect, ideal applicant) for attending law school? </p>
<p>I’ve heard a lot of reasons for why attending law school is a bad idea. Just curious about the other side of the equation. What are some success stories or good reasons for attending law school?</p>
<p>I’m going to law school if after prior experience in IP I find that I’m as passionate about the work as am I the idea. And everyone I’ve talked to, even miserable lawyers, say that if that’s the case after working in a law firm as a patent agent or so before going to law school, then it would be a good idea to go to law school.</p>
<p>I haven’t found an attorney yet that doesn’t say get experience in a law firm before going to law school.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard that the perfect candidates for law school mostly make miserable candidates for law practice. Once you get into BigLaw, it seems your life is over, and only the most ruthless make partner.</p>