http://www.law.ua.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/
Tuition: In-state law students – attending on a full-time basis – will be charged $20,770 in tuition, for the 2013-2014 school year. Non-resident, full-time law students will be bent over a coffee table, at a cost of $34,840– for 2013-2014. It’s nice to see a public toilet taking such an intere$t in their pupils, huh?!
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings
Ranking: According to US “News” & World Report, the University of Alabama Sewer of Law is the 21st most prestigious law school in the entire nation. It even shares this designation with George Washington University, which MUST make it a great in$titution, right?!?! You might think that is impressive, but keep in mind that this is definitely a regional school– at best. Try landing a decent attorney position outside of the South, with a degree from this commode.
http://www.law.ua.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012-ABA-Placement-Summary.pdf
Employment Placement Data: Let’s take a look at the Employment Summary report for the Alabama JD Class of 2012. Under Employment Status, you will note that the school claims a 94% “placement rate” within nine months of graduation, i.e. 158/168. Then again, the school did not know the job status for four members of this cohort. When JDs get jobs, they typically cannot wait to report that information. If we use the entire class, then the placement rate falls to 91.9 percent, i.e. 158/172. You will also see that the public toilet hired three members of the Class of 2012 in law school or university funded positions. Those posts are listed as full-time, long term.
Scroll down to the section labeled Employment Type. A total of 80 graduates ended up working in private law firms. This number includes the following: 12 desperate solos; 34 people working in firms of 2-10 lawyers; and 12 more employed by offices of 11-25 attorneys. In stark contrast, only damn member of this class found work in a firm of more than 500 lawyers. Do you still like YOUR odds, lemming?!?!
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/grad-debt-rankings/page+8
Average Law Student Indebtedness:US “News” lists the average law student indebtedness - for those members of the University of Alabama JD Class of 2012 who incurred debt for law school - as $67,611. In fact, 79 percent of this school’s 2012 class took on such toxic debt. Remember that this figure does not include undergraduate debt – and it also does not take accrued interest into account.
Alabama’s Long-Time Law Dean Leaves…for InfiLaw:
http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/07/does-your-conscience-bother-you
Paul Campos authored a Lawyers, Guns & Money blog entry entitled “Does your conscience bother you?” - back on July 6, 2013. Check out the segment below:
“[I]t ought to tell us something when the University of Alabama announced last week that Kenneth Randall, who had been dean of the university’s law school for 20 years, was “retiring” effective immediately, to enter what the university’s president characterized demurely as “the private sector.”
“The private sector” turns out to be . . . well let’s allow ex-Dean Randall to speak for himself:
We all are still working on the margins of traditional education with distance ed; it is high time to create economies of scale industry-wide; to bring law to non-lawyers; to create hybrid models of brick-and-mortar and technology-based programs; to train lawyers to deliver legal services in the new technology-based ways clients demand; and to train law students for jobs that don’t require a bar license. We need inclusive education, that breaks down geographical and other boundaries.
The InfiLaw System offered a special opportunity, supporting me to lead a new venture, InfiLaw Ventures, both to create new content, and to deliver existing content in ways that expand markets and serve student learners who otherwise might be left out of education….We will joint venture with schools nationally and internationally. I’ve been involved in traditional legal education. But the ABA rules on distance education need updating. We need the accreditors and educators and innovators coming together to meet the new realities of legal education.” [Emphasis mine]
It's obvious that Kenneth Randall is leaving for browner pastures - unless the pigs at InfiLaw are tossing more green in his direction. As Elie Mystal pointed out, under Randall, the public commode went from 38th greatest - in 2010 - to the 21st most phenomenal law school in the United States. The rat had also been dean for 20 years. According to his old school bio, the academic thief holds four law degrees! I’m sure that the InfiLaw excrement piles will see their ranking soar.
Do You Enjoy Toilet Water?:
http://www.alabar.org/public/thinking-of-law-school.cfm
This past Spring, the Alabama State Bar published a report labeled “Thinking Of Going To Law School?” Head down to the subheading Early Hires - 0-3 Months:
“For those who found employment within 3 months after admission, the largest group (43.3%) found it in the private practice setting of firms having 1 to 5 lawyers. This result is not surprising, since we know that approximately two-thirds of Alabama lawyers practice in the 1 to 5 lawyer setting.” [Emphasis mine]
Those who took more than one year to find a job ended up working in such firms at an even higher rate. The employment statistics from the University of Alabama SOL Class of 2012 reflect this reality, as well. Have fun fighting established law firms - and locally known attorneys - for family law and DUI cases. Make sure to have some decent start up money, if you take this TTT route.
Conclusion: You may think that an additional $70K in NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt is a small price to pay for a chance to be admitted to this garbage “profession.” However, keep in mind that the USN&WR figure cited above does not include interest that accrues while you are enrolled in this advanced Humanities program. Do you think that you can make good money as a small town lawyer, in a boutique firm, in an area already overrun with such attorneys? If you have a decent job, with a chance for advancement, be smart - and stick to that position.