Deferral Stipend, Job Searches, Law Schools

Open Thread: What Can Law Schools Do?

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At some point, we are going to have to do something about law school tuition that is painfully out of whack with the reality of the post-graduate legal market. But with falling state budgets and a record number of new applicants, let’s assume that law schools will sooner offer advanced classes in hotel management before they reduce tuition.

But what can law schools do to help out their students during this market crisis. The UCONN student newspaper had an interesting idea:

UConn Law pushes back start date for Class of 2012

In a move seen as in line with many BigLaw firms, UConn Law has pushed back the start date for the incoming class of 2012, which will now begin studies in January of 2010….

The development was simultaneously discovered by several dozen 3Ls, who fi ll their days obsessively refreshing the law industry blog Above the Law, in the hopes the firms at which they plan to start their careers have gone another five minutes without dissolving.

I’m all for taking the incoming class of 2012 and vigorously shaking them while screaming “What are you thinking!? You are RUINING it for everybody!” Alas, the UCONN idea is just another “April Fool’s” attempt to raise hopes and then quickly dash them.

But after the jump, are there legitimate options law schools should consider?


One tipster had the brilliant idea of law schools extending their clinical program options to recent graduates. If law schools did this, 3Ls who’ve had their start dates deferred would be able to get the public interest position they need in order to get their deferral stipend, without having to compete with everybody else in a few choice cities. And they’ll get to spend the year in an environment they are familiar with, as opposed to trying to learn an entirely new city for a transient year. If law schools could throw in some subsidized student housing, so much the better.

Of course, there are obvious problems … clinics are supposed to be learning experiences for students, not professional opportunities for graduates, especially ones who will take some time to pass and become admitted to the bar. But if the complications can be worked out, it seems like a low cost way for schools to actually help their students deal with the market.

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What other creative ideas have you heard? Law schools (obviously) aren’t doing a great job helping their students find jobs, and they are most likely not going to reduce tuition any time soon. But that doesn’t mean schools need to stand like a deer in headlights while the classes of 2009 and 2010 are run over on the recession highway. There are initiatives schools can undertake to help in these tough times.

Share your ideas in the comments. You never know who is listening.

Pro Se [Uconn Law School]

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