http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/22/opinions/barton-rise-and-fall-of-lawyers/index.html
Courtesy of CNN: On May 22, 2015, Benjamin Barton – “law professor” at the University of Tennessee – wrote an op-ed for CNN. The article was entitled “The fall and rise of lawyers.” Look at this opening:
“The American legal profession has faced a tsunami of bad news since 2008. White-shoe, corporate law firms have faced waves of layoffs or even shuttered their doors. While the very top firms are rolling again, the 50 years of explosive growth that started in the 1960s are now a memory.
But at least corporate lawyers have had recent glory days. Solo practitioners, the largest single group of American lawyers and the heart and soul of the profession, have struggled for a quarter of a century.
Since the 1960s the IRS has collected and published income levels for all American lawyers filing as solo practitioners. In 1988, solo practitioners earned an inflation-adjusted $70,747. By 2012, earnings had fallen to $49,130, a 30% decrease in real income. And note, $49,130 is not the starting salary for these lawyers. It is the average earnings of all 354,000 lawyers who filed as solo practitioners that year.
And the bad news has just started for these lawyers, who now face new competition from online providers of legal services such as LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer.
Law school applications have plummeted. If the current trend continues, fewer students will apply to law school in 2015-16 than enrolled in law school in 2010-11. Law schools are closing campuses, merging and buying out faculty and staff.” [Emphasis mine]
Later on in the piece, Barton added:
“Fortunately, except for in-court representation, computerization is on the verge of bypassing the legal profession altogether and solving these problems. Start with the basics of American law – statutes, regulations, and reported court decisions.
Nonprofits and government entities have put almost all of the raw materials of American law online and Google and other search engines have made that law easier to find than ever. An American with a smart phone now has more access to legal sources than most lawyers or judges did fifteen years ago.” [Emphasis mine]
How do you like, Dumbass?! For centuries, lawyers were able to charge a premium for their services, since they had access to information – such as statutes, case law, property records, and other data – that was largely unavailable to the average person. Now, anyone with an IQ above room temperature and some curiosity can easily find these sources. As such, they don’t need to spend big sums on attorneys, especially since this is a GLUTTED field.
This “law professor” is spelling it out for, lemmings. The fact that Cockroach Barton is still a willing participant in the law school scam shows that he doesn’t give a damn his students or graduates. It also speaks volumes about his supposed “integrity.” However, this “educator” is furnishing some truth. If you are not attending a top law school, then you are looking at the following options: toiletlaw, low-paid legal aid positions, non-law jobs, and returning to your prior industry or work – with your tail in between your legs. Do you still want to incur an additional $140K+ in NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt for these odds, mental deficient?!?!
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-13/there-are-too-many-lawyers-say-law-firms
From Bloomberg: On May 13, 2015, Natalie Kitroeff’s article, “There Are Too Many Lawyers, Say Law Firms,” was featured in BloombergBusiness. Look at the following segment:
“Work-life balance has traditionally been an unfamiliar concept at big law firms, but that might be changing. A majority of managers at firms say they employ too many lawyers and those lawyers are not busy enough, according to a survey released Tuesday by consultancy Altman Weil.
Among the 320 managing partners and chairmen Altman Weil polled, 60 percent reported that overcapacity was making their firms less profitable. At large firms—more than 250 attorneys—the problem was even worse: 74 percent of leaders said idleness was hurting profit.” [Emphasis mine]
Keep in mind that 1,067 law grads, from the Class of 2013, were hired by firms of 251-500 attorneys. Another 3,980 JDs from this cohort landed in offices of 501+ lawyers. That combined figure represents less than 10.8% of the JD Class of 2013, i.e. 5,047/46,776! Yet, these firms, each and collectively representing the wealthiest criminals in the country, claim that they have too many attorneys on staff.
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/legal/lawyers.htm
Per the U.S. Department of Labor: Head to the link above real quick. This is the Occupational Outlook Handbook entry for lawyers. It is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Read the portion below:
“Job Outlook
Employment of lawyers is projected to grow 10 percent from 2012 to 2022, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Competition for jobs should continue to be strong because more students graduate from law school each year than there are jobs available.” [Emphasis mine]
Do you understand the implications, waterhead?!?! If you cannot figure out that there are too many lawyers in the United States, then how the hell can you be expected to represent paying clients on legal matters?
Conclusion: In sum, not only are solo practitioners typically broke bastards, but there are too many attorneys in Biglaw firms. That is according to the managing partners and chairmen, not some random scambloggers. At this point in the game, if you choose to apply to and attend a non-elite law school now, then you truly are a mental deficient. Not only should you be strapped down with ridiculous sums of NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt. You ought to be beaten to a bloody pulp – with bamboo sticks. In the final analysis, no one forced your moronic ass to go to law school.