From J.D. to food stamps: The personal cost of going to Law School. How’s this for a sad story: guy worked his butt off at law school, racked up $200K in debt and now can’t find a job, but the good(?) news is he does qualify for food stamps. One takeaway – steer clear of law schools that don’t bother to give grades. But remember gang, it’s the damn oil companies that are ripping us off.
This post was last modified on February 1, 2021
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Since the practice of law has little to do with education or talent and all to do with misdirection and politics, I am not surprised that many students graduating from law schools don't have jobs.
You can go to law school with a teaching degree and that is not much education.
In order to survive in law school, you have to know how to suck up to the all mighty professors. Then suck up to a judge for your internship. You learn how to skew the truth and bamboozle juries and judges. It is a profession I turned down when the recruiter came round due to its objectional ethics of the profession.
Frankly I wish there were a whole lot more lawyers out of work.
When I see some of the happy horseshit going on out there, I tend to agree.
:- }
PS-- just took quick look: http://www.lawschool100.com/
Northeastern is Top 100 -barely - but still a damn good rating and IS considered a First Tier school.
US News ranks it even higher, 76 http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/northeastern-university-167358/overall-rankings
I worked with somebody who went to Northeastern. and honestly I think there's something in this story we're not quite hearing. Northeastern does have a good reputation. No, they don't give out traditional grades, but each professor gives an individual written "assessment" of the student at the end of the course. If I recall, the "assessments" have been fairly standardized in their wording, and everyone in the legal hiring world knows exactly what each assessment means in terms of grade level.
And if he missed this, yeah he's got no-one but himself to blame, that link in the article is to the FIRST PAGE of NE Law, and it talks about in big letters, small words, right up front.
I'm not sure what he means by "stipend," or where he's working. Intern? Sounds like this guy is getting in line to join the Fleabaggers. I didn't have a paying job at law for years until after I graduated. I spent two years back at spraying lawns to make 'em green, then went back into the merchant marine, chipping paint and greasing cargo gear for four years before I had my first decent law job, then a couple more years doing law temping and sailing together. I graduated from my school in '96 -- also in Mass- and it was '05 before I was doing law anything like full time. I'm still basically a temp, but there's enough to keep you going most of the time.
As I say, I don't know where he practices, but in and around Boston there's what we call the 10/10 rule -- if you're not in the top 10% of the class of one of the top 10 schools, you're just not going to have a job in one of the big firms.
But-- there'e nothing keeping him from temping, like I do. There's nothing keeping from setting up in practice on his own. There's nothing, or little, to stop him getting in line to be a state employee -- either in a DAs office, which are often fertile ground, or as a public defender, or one of the other publicly funded attorneys, such as for family court, where it frequently happens that the court will appoint attorneys for children, to make sure they don't get ripped in half by a pair of parents neither of whom are hardly fit to draw breath. Yes, I was interested in that, but after about the third time of being instructed to send my resume to the State's "Office of Diversity Implementation" rather than a boring old "Human Resources" I figured I was lacking the one important qualification for the position. Whew. Didn't mean to vent off like that.
Bottom line -- no sympathy for this guy. Sounds like any one of the Fleabaggers, I tried so hard and now I can't, wah wah wah.
You mean we don't have enough lawyers?
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
IIRC, in 1988ish the amount of graduating law students was equal to the total amount of working lawyers. It might have been earlier. But think about that. Lawyers do not add to the GDP, they suckle off of it. That is kind of when America started a dive. Just saying because I would rather kill a journalist first and not a lawyer like The Bard wanted.
Another way of looking at it is the school ripped him off. Apparently, he wasn't tier-1 school material. In a more rational age, he would've been forced to look at other options besides law. Even if he still wound up as a comedy club bartender, it would've been SANS 200K debt and he could've still had a chance at a half-decent life. Instead, he's got 200K debt (which does NOT get erased by bankruptcy) which he possibly will never pay back. Besides ruining lives, the accumulation of bad student loan debt is misallocated capital which may retard the economy for years. These people will not be buying houses, cars or lots of other things because they will be trying to work off this albatross. The higher education bubble is one you don't hear much about because its the Democrats' pals in academia that profited from it, but you can be sure it will end up as big a financial mess as the housing bubble.
Actually, I have several friends who are on the bar. There has BEEN some difficulty for some time. Everyone thinks the are going to law school and step into a gazillion dollar job. But it isn't happening. And it is VERY difficult to start up your own practice. As a prosecuter, you can probably get a job, but by the time you add up the hours and abuse, you're getting paid about what Dairy Queen pays, with worse hours! Get a trade. Those guys may boit have college degrees, but they are pulling in 6 figure incomes because people NEED them!
I look at it this way, You should make a career out of something you actually enjoy, otherwise you'll be a miserable drone for the rest of your life.
Law is OK for those that like it, but the hours suck, and the clients are worse! Whether you're practicing corporate law or criminal law, you are dealing woth scum and assholes.
Believe me, the grind that you experience doing something for the money and not because you like it, is not worth it.
My step-daughter is off to law school. This is all making me ver concerned.
I'd bet Eric Holder would hire him!
Bet he wouldn't. Not on the approved hiring list!
A lawyer can't find work? That's sad.
...About as sad as hearing that a serial killer can't afford to buy rope and duct tape.