That's what you do when you're a law grad and you can't find a job. Law school grads can’t get jobs, and now some are suing over it - Quartz
Lawyers suing lawyers over law school? Good luck finding an unbiased jury pool; most people will view that like the Iran/Iraq War. They'd like both sides to lose.
If you attend a school with a bar passage rate of 46% that should probably tell you something. Honestly, I have zero sympathy for alumni who sue their school because they couldn't get a job "with" their degree. To me, the act of suing your school for this just shows how defective your personality is and why that is likely the cause of you remaining unemployed. You send out a bunch of resumes and get no response. Huh, something wrong with me, perhaps? Do I need certifications, further education, specialized experience (which can be obtained through internships, volunteer experiences or even entry level work)? Nah, couldn't possibly be me, mommy and daddy told me I'm perfect. If I can't get a job it must be the fault of someone else. If I had a law degree from Yale I'd have a job! Of course, that ignores the reality that, if you are going to a third or fourth tier law school, a top tier law school was likely not in the cards. Rather than playing the hand you were dealt you want to cry foul. And if you're young, healthy and really just need to get yourself a job, there are four fantastic options that I never see any of these litigious youths taking advantage of; Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines.
Let me just say to all those coasties out there that I didn't omit the USCG as a slight. I was, however, under the mistaken impression that the USCG didn't have its own JAG Corps. As the USCG shares a Chaplain Corps with the Navy, I incorrectly assumed that they shared a JAG Corps as well.* But yeah, if you're an unemployed lawyer (but still managed to pass the bar) I feel like this might be a more viable option than suing your law school. At least in terms of not looking like a whiner. *That was kind of a dumb assumption since the Navy and the USMC share Chaplains and medical personnel as well but still maintain their own separate JAG Lawyers.
Despite wanting both to lose as Bruce wrote, I do see the point. Schools provide a service. If the service does not hold up to what was initially promised, I want a refund of some sort. If a law school advertising is misleading, they should be held accountable, just as any other service firm.
If you enroll in a JD program with a 46% bar pass rate there is really no reason to suggest that the employment numbers should be "good." If only 46% of your graduates pass the bar and you're reporting a 100% employment rate then I have a pretty good feeling that 43% of your graduates are not working in careers that require bar admission (thus, not working as lawyers). A 46% bar passage rate is not good. The fact that a student got all starry eyed at the notion of becoming a lawyer should not be recast as "misleading" advertising. And we definitely shouldn't take the disappointment that is life as permission to wash away the financial mistakes of our youth. The fact is, I don't have a law degree. And yet, I make more than the average starting salary being reported for all of these "underemployed" lawyers. There is absolutely no reason why some of them cannot find work in HR if they were to tack on a certification and start in a lower position. There is absolutely no reason why more of them cannot enlist or otherwise work in government service to build up experience. What's happening isn't that a school failed to deliver. What's happening is that students want to take their degree, walk out and be handed a job with relative ease. When that doesn't happen they get litigious. The fact is there are a number of entry level jobs in a variety of industries that would provide a path to better employment for these young lawyers. Yeah, it means 3-5 years of sucky pay. But guess what? That's exactly what lawyers were dealing with before when they went the public defender route. The problem is that we have a glut of 25 year olds who clutch their pearls at the very suggestion that they might have to take a job that is "beneath" them until they build up skills and experience to actually have something to offer an employer. Or you could sue your law school. That and a job at Trader Joe's will give you lots to angrily blog about.
I have not read this entirely but it seems to describe a complicated picture NALP - The Association for Legal Career Professionals | Employment Rate for New Law School Graduates Rises by More Than Two Percentage Points - But Overall Number of Jobs Falls as the Size of the Graduating Class Shrinks I suspect that a piece of the puzzle is something that we've discussed in the past and that is the graduate's willingness to relocate in order to find "that job."
Every undergraduate who expresses interest in law school I tell them they better really be passionate about it and have the determination to work hard and long hours to get anywhere or they will be left with little chance at a high-paying job but saddled with the debt that it often takes to get into one. Most of them, I just suggest accountancy: equivalent prestige to the practice of law, good pay (sometimes great, I've heard of Big 4 partners making close to $1m a year), plenty of demand, less student loans.
I believe the facts. The fact is, that your facts are factually factual. No, really.:jester: Sorry - could not stop myself. I agree that there are a lot of kids who think they deserve something because they completed school. I deal with them quite frequently.
I like the idea though. Even though most JD holders do not practice law as attorneys. Law school is currently in return on investment. Just take out massive student loans while fully funded for cost of living. Then sue the schools once cannot find the job...now, I get extra money.
The way I look at these things is that you should have to be willing to surrender the credential. Earned a JD and don't want to pay it off? Give it back. No more bar eligibility. The credential is gone. Because I can also imagine a lawyer striking out on his/her own after law school, failing and then suing their law school. No, if you're really serious that this debt is destroying your life and the credential is seriously not helping you find ANY work, then just give it back (along with any privilege or benefit attached to it). At a minimum, I think it would show how serious you were and prove that you weren't just trying to get something for free.
