The Young Texas Lawyer

After a month long hiatus, we are back with a question that each reader has probably asked themselves at one point or another. Was it worth it? According to Karen Sloan, you should proceed with caution to law school. However, students don’t seem to be listening. Applications to law schools accredited by the ABA increased by 5% for this year’s incoming class, according to the Law School Admissions Council, and the number of people taking the LSAT this October shot up by nearly 20%, meaning admissions officials are in for a busy year. Sloan goes on to say that “would-be lawyers should take a hard look at the benefits and drawbacks of spending three years and upward of $100,000 to get a law degree” and that “law schools should provide better statistics on student debt, career prospects and earning potential, according recent graduates and law school faculty.” Both are very true, but they could be said of any graduate program. Do you think the person studying to be a chiropractor doesn’t have to worry about the same issues?

The biggest problem lies in the inflated expectations of law students themselves. Not everyone is going to come out making $160,000 a year. In fact, only 23% of the class of 2008 secured that salary, according to the National Association for Law Placement. Everything you learn in school is theory, you aren’t really worth anything until you can put that theory into practice. If your only goal is to make money then most of the time you’ll be in the hole. If your goal is to become a lawyer then not only will your degree be worth it, but it will prove itself essential. College is the place to explore and determine what you want to be when you grow up. If you haven’t figured that out by the time you graduate then take some more time and don’t just go to law school because there’s nothing else to do.

A blogger by the name of H. Luiz has come up with an interesting list outlining his reasons that one should not go to law school. Some of it is true and some of it is not, and below you’ll find YTL’s take on these reasons:

1. Financial suicide
   • I will somewhat agree with this one, but depending on what you would have done other than becoming a lawyer you’d probably have less income and job security over the long haul
2. Sucks the creativity out of you
   • Again this is a half truth. One doesn’t have to go to a cookie cutter employer after law school. There are plenty of non-profits and non-traditional jobs out there for attorneys. You’ll have more options as an attorney.
3. There’s an 80% chance you’ll breakup with your significant other
   • This one I will have to agree with, however I’m not sure about the exact accuracy of the number.
4. The Bar is brutal
   • Agreed, but is anything worth having?
5. Top jobs are scarce
   • This depends on your definition of a “top job.” If a top job means top compensation then that is true of any profession.
6. Work insane hours
   • Again, it depends. Some do and some don’t. There are plenty of small business owners out there that work harder than lawyers, but don’t make near the amount of money. Nothing is easy.
7. Law professors are pretentious
   • Some are and some aren’t. Many times intellectuals come off as pretentious, but that is just because they are smarter than you.
8. Harassing legal questions from friends and family
   • No argument here.

As the Texas Bar Blog writes, three Texas law school deans were present for a discussion on the future of legal education last Thursday at the State Bar of Texas’ Annual Meeting. Texas deans Larry Sager from The University of Texas Law School, John Attanasio of Southern Methodist University, and Brad Toben of Baylor Law School joined Ken Starr of Pepperdine Law School. The biggest topic was skyrocketing tuition and all agreed that it is too high. Toben mentioned that “too much money is being spent to get better [U.S. News & World Report] rankings,” and Sager joined in blaming some of the problem on the current rankings system.

From the Dallas Morning News… Dallas will be home to the state’s next public law school under a bill that won tentative House approval today.

Budget woes mean funding for the law school remains uncertain, at least for the next two years. At that point, officials could come back to the Legislature again for funding, or seek tuition revenue bonds instead. But for now, the budget the Legislature is poised to approve does not include the $40 million needed to establish the school. YTL’s previous UNT Law School Update.

As Unfair Park points out, the proposed UNT Law School backers are “working overtime to get the entire state Legislature behind the idea” and today’s Austin American-Statesman has an op-ed piece by the new school’s biggest proponents. There are even whispers that there might be a mass exodus of SMU Law professors to the proposed downtown Dallas law school. Apparently, a few of the SMU Law professors have been waiting on the new UNT school as a viable exit strategy.

YTL first wrote about this topic in early March and got some interesting reader feedback. As more time passes, it appears as though this school is getting closer to becoming a reality.

As you’ve probably read everywhere else, U.S. News & World Report has released its annual law school rankings. Not much has changed and the rankings to mean much to most people, but nonetheless they’re linked to above.

For years the University of North Texas has been pushing officials for a law school in downtown Dallas and this go around everyone seems to be on board except for the legal community. After all, as Brian Cuban points out, the market should dictate the need for more lawyers and not politicians.

To open another law school in Texas during a time like this is extremely irresponsible. There is already a large population of young attorneys out there with no jobs and massive loads of law school debt. Granted UNT would be the first public law school in the DFW area, but now is not the time and hopefully some of the legislators in Austin recognize that.

Update from The Dallas Morning News