The Admission:
http://insidethelawschoolscam.blogspot.com/2012/10/five-stages-of-grief.html
On Saturday, October 13, 2012, Paul Campos published a sobering blog piece entitled “Five stages of grief.” Take a look at this opening:
“James Leipold, the Executive Director of NALP, has a striking column in this month's print issue of the NALP Bulletin. Leipold begins by noting his surprise that "a number of law schools, through their dean or their office of career services, have called on NALP generally and on me specifically to develop a more positive message about the entry-level job market. One request went so far as to urge me to describe the entry-level legal employment market as good.
Shocking but, sadly, not surprising. Law schools have had to disclose their sobering job outcomes, but they want to reassure applicants that the market is "fundamentally strong" and will "turn around shortly. Fortunately, Leipold points out that he can't say things that are false." [Emphasis mine]
This further proves that the law school pigs do not give one damn about their recruits, current students or recent graduates. They simply want you to believe that law school is a sound investment. But we are supposed to show respect to these deceitful cockroaches, because they are “law professors,” right?!?!
Later on, the article continued:
“After pointing to steeply declining outcomes for the Classes of 2009 through 2011, Leipold writes: "We also know that the large law firm hiring model is different than it was before the recession, and is not likely ever going to look like it did in the last years before the economic collapse. That is because the business environment for large law firms has changed in significant ways that are likely to be permanent, or at least it has changed because of trends that are not likely to reverse themselves."
There you have it. Leipold is someone who hangs out with BigLaw partners and recruiters; BigLaw is the backbone of NALP. He also has every incentive to portray legal hiring as optimistically as possible; see above on pressure from law schools. If Leipold thinks BigLaw will not revive its ebullient hiring practices, then it almost certainly will not.” [Emphasis mine]
NALP’s Class of 2011 National Summary Report:
http://www.nalp.org/uploads/NatlSummChart_Classof2011.pdf
ABA-accredited trash pits pumped out 44,495 graduates in 2011. Out of that gigantic number, employment status was known for 41,623 JDs. These grads competed for a mere 27,224 jobs labeled “bar passage required.” Yes, that represents 61.2% of all cohort members. Keep in mind that not all of these are traditional attorney positions.
Scroll down to page two of this PDF, and head to the section “Size of Firm.” You will see that only 17,666 grads reported working in private law firms. THIS EQUATES TO 39.7 PERCENT OF THE ENTIRE 2011 CLASS ENDING UP IN PRIVATE PRACTICE! Furthermore, a total of 1,059 desperate souls went into solo practice. Another 7,570 were employed in firms of 2-10 lawyers. Nearly half, i.e. 48.8 percent, of private lawyers came from these two categories. Do you think that ABA law schools are producing too many graduates?!?! Let these numbers sink in for a moment.
NALP’s Selected Findings, for the JD Class of 2011:
http://www.nalp.org/uploads/PressReleases/Classof2011ERSSSelectedFindingsPressRelease.pdf
On June 7, 2012, NALP furnished a press release labeled “Law School Grads Face Worst Job Market Yet — Less Than Half Find Jobs in Private Practice.” Take a look at the following excerpt:
“According to Selected Findings from the Employment Report and Salary Survey for the Class of 2011 released today by NALP, the overall employment rate for new law school graduates is, at 85.6%, the lowest it has been since 1994, when the rate stood at 84.7%. In addition to an overall employment rate that fell two percentage points from that for the previous class, and that has dropped each year since 2008, the Class of 2011 employment figures reveal a job market with many underlying structural weaknesses. The employment profile for this class also marks a continued interruption of employment patterns for new law school graduates that had, prior to 2010, been undisturbed for decades.” [Emphasis mine]
Conclusion: Apparently, the dung beetles know that the game is over. “Law professors” and deans may continue to claim that the legal job market is going to improve. However, do not expect too many of their close allies to make such assertions, and place their names and repuTTTaTTTions at risk. Mentally deficient lemmings need to realize that the facts cited come from the industry.
Biglaw clients are sophisticated enough to realize that they do not need to pay firms big dollars to train new lawyers. The fact remains that this area is pretty much limited to those who attended elite schools, as well as those who are have sterling connections and the right family name. If you have a pathetically low chance of ending up in Biglaw, then there is NO DAMN REASON to incur an additional $110K-$170K in NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt for a law degree. Hell, would you pay ridiculous sums of money for one lottery ticket - or $30 for a single chance to win a prize from McDonald’s Monopoly campaign?!?!
