New Orleans I was going to write about the interview with Long Beach lawyers for DUI cases and the fact that the new health care regulations are still going to suck out 10% of a worker’s pay until he’s making about $15.00 per hour or $30,000 a year, but, hey, there are too many “Debbie Downer” stories in my repertoire, so let’s look at some good news: law school applications are down to a 30-year low this year! You can see this for further information on a similar subject. Now that’s great news! Finally, we can imagine a future with fewer lawyers! So in case you have been wondering about why you should hire an attorney for your business succession plan, now is perhaps the best time to do your research and pick on a lawyer soon.
The oil field injury attorneys San Antonio are wringing their hands and gnashing their teeth. Could it be that the exorbitant cost of law school is depressing the market? Or, is it the fact that the young grads are lucky to make $40,000 a year these days with $100,000 plus in debt? Or, maybe they feel like it would just be easier to go straight. As my comrade, Orell Fitzsimmons, field director for Local 100 United Labor Unions, observed, he had heard talk of a cheaper two-year program, and if they added “an extra year for some ethics training it would do them all a world of good.” Amen!
But maybe not, since they are dropping like rocks! Listen to the numbers from the Times:
As of this month, there were 30,000 applicants to law schools for the fall, a 20 percent decrease from the same time last year and a 38 percent decline from 2010, according to the Law School Admission Council. Of some 200 law schools nationwide, only 4 have seen increases in applications this year. In 2004 there were 100,000 applicants to law schools; this year there are likely to be 54,000. Such startling numbers have plunged law school administrations into soul-searching debate about the future of legal education and the profession over all.
“Soul-searching debate about …the profession over all.” Wow! Now, that would be some good news. The first mass labor federation, the Knights of Labor, famously welcomed almost all workers to membership, but barred lawyers, not wanting to ruin the union’s reputation.
“Thirty years ago if you were looking to get on the escalator to upward mobility you went to business or law school. Today the law school escalator is broken.” Times quote of the day from William D. Henderson, a professor of law at Indiana University, on the declining number of applications to United States law schools.
The Law Offices of Boyd & Boyd, P.C. – Hyannis Estate Planning Law Firm points out “Escalator is broken.” Maybe while the “soul-searching debate” is going on, there should be some discussion about law as a service profession rather than a get-rich-quick scheme? This orlando criminal defense attorney says that perhaps there could be a couple of points raised about protecting the little guys and the biscuit cookers, and not just sharp elbowing for corporations and the big timers.
This could be good news all around. No offense, but I’m for putting a positive spin and the best construction on this report.