Is law school a wise investment?

[USC313]

Sadly it's not. If you want to get the real scoop on whether law school is worth your blood, sweat, tears (and especially, money), please see the following:

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firms_express_growing_enthusiasm_for_contract_lawyers/
http://www.altmanweil.com/index.cfm/fa/r.resource_detail/oid/6ddd4b8a-88a3-44ef-85a1-5a9a7ce501ac/resource/New_Law_Firm_Survey_A_Consensus_on_Change.cfm
http://www.jdunderground.com
http://thirdtierreality.blogspot.com/

This was also big news in the legal world about a week ago:

http://balkin.blogspot.com/2010/06/wake-up-fellow-law-professors-to.html
http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2010/06/law-professor-supports-scambloggers-calls-for-his-colleagues-to-wake-up-to-reality-.html

Please take the time to inform yourselves. It's curious that posters on here don't talk about this issue (the most significant to hit the lawyer profession in 20 years) more often.

[bigs5068]

You could do these reports in every single industry education is a risk and that should not be news to anybody.

[the white rabbit]

You could do these reports in every single industry education is a risk and that should not be news to anybody.

As I've said elsewhere, not every other industry entails an additional $100k+ just to get started.

And for the record, I think some law schools are good investments.  Not every school costs an arm and a leg.

[bigs5068]

Yea you should go to a school that gives you are a scholarship or a state school with really low tuition. Part of me regrets not taking the money at La Verne I would have graduated with 0 debt. Or I could have gone to CUNY in New York and paid 10k tuition since I was a resident and 10k a year is less than I am paying at GGU with a 16,000 scholarship. Had I known more about cost I might have choose differently, but overall I am satisfied up to this point.

As I said on another thread the OP's link are written by the type of people that would bi**h and moan if they went to Harvard everything is somebody elses fault. If you go to law school you are paying a lot of money and it better be something you want to do if you are giving up 3 years of your life and a lot of money.  The media does not portray lawyer lifestyles accurately either most don't get rich especially not right after graduation. A lot of people  I meet randomly say oh man when you graduate you will be so rich and the answer to that is no I probably won't maybe if I do a good job for 10 years then yea maybe. It is no guarantee there is a perception that if you graduate law school people will knock down doors to hire you and that is not true especially right now. Government's are broke so P.D.'s, D.'A's etc are not hiring. Real Estate Transactions are not happening so that is closed the list goes on it is a GLOBAL recession not just a legal recession right now so it is even harder than usual to find employment.

I just can't really can't stand sh**t like JD underground and the type of people that would write on there.

[mac n cheese]

You could do these reports in every single industry education is a risk and that should not be news to anybody.

Precisely! "is law school a wise investment?" I'd have to answer by giving the classic "it depends" answer. Here is what it depends on:
1) It depends on how long YOU can wait for a return. If you are borrowing the cash, you don't get very long to start making payments. Its 6 months after you graduate but then you can defer if you have hardship but the interest will accrue so beware.
2) It depends on YOUR opportunity cost ( in other words, what you will be giving up.....) In my opinion, if you've got an 80,000 per year earning potential without a law degree, and you quit this gig, assuming most of your decision to go to law school is based on finance, you may want to rethink. However, if you make 35,000 per year and hate your job, then it makes sense. ( unless you end up making 50,000 with a law degree and hate that as well)
3)It depends on whether or not YOU like legal work and will get pleasure from it? If you have no idea, talk to a few lawyers in your area. See if they'd be willing to let you sit with them for a few hours so you can get a feel for the profession. As most of us know, its not what you see on tv. Its actually massive reading, writing, research and more reading until you get tired. It is 10 hour days. You will work with strange people.......... some of whom will be very cold and unfriendly(but not always the case and in all fairness this can happen in any industry......) but probably more in legal
4) What is your timeline? What age do you hope to retire. Will you be able to retire ?
5) How much will you pay/ borrow for the education?

Answering these questions should get you closer to the answer of the question: "is law school a wise investment?" It has for me. Its all about planning and making informed decisions. Nothing is guaranteed but 100k is a lot of money to waste on a poorly thought out "bad idea".

[bigs5068]

I can't disagree with that. If you have a lucrative job and then decide to go to law school particularly a tier 2/3 or 4 it probably is not a good decision unless you have a burning desire to be a lawyer. If you have a B.A. in religious studies and are working in retail then getting a J.D. will probably boost your income.

[the white rabbit]

It's not just the recession, for the record.  Although certainly, it doesn't help.

[cooleylawstudent]

what is it then according to you?

It's not just the recession, for the record.  Although certainly, it doesn't help.

[the white rabbit]

what is it then according to you?

It's not just the recession, for the record.  Although certainly, it doesn't help.

And oversupply of law school graduates.  Particularly those with too much debt hanging over their heads.

[cooleylawstudent]

has does a worker having debt make him less hireable?

quote author=baby lawyer link=topic=4023664.msg5381316#msg5381316 date=1277434060]

what is it then according to you?

It's not just the recession, for the record.  Although certainly, it doesn't help.

And oversupply of law school graduates.  Particularly those with too much debt hanging over their heads.
[/quote]