First!

-Atlanta

these pretzels are making me firsty

First!

-Atlanta

2/3/4

Nice try, but suck it.

--1, the undisputed FIRST CHAMPION OF THE WORRRRLLLLLDDDD

If you are a current law student, you entered law school with the expectation of a law firm job. If you went to Columbia, you expected $160K to start. Accordingly, you were willing to pay the 200K for your education. You will not get that $160K to start, and by virtue of the fact that you are graduating in a recession, you will have lower lifetime career earnings, too. Hence you have overpaid for your education. Its not your fault, but you have.

What a TTT

If you went to law school in the last two years in order to "enhance your job prospects," then I hope your job prospects were absolutely bottom-of-the-barrel piss poor before you enrolled.

Yeah, I love that I now have $175k in debt, and can't find a legal job and now I've "overqualified" to get a normal job. Thanks law school!

Columbia took 100 TRANSFER STUDENTS THIS FALL. Is it a surprise they cannot find jobs for everyone?

With all of the prediction of starting associate's salary being depressed to 125,000 (or below), will law schools scale back tuition to 2001 levels?

For instance, a 3L at CLS in 2001 paid 31,000/year in tuition. Today, she pays 46,000/year, along with the attendant cost of living increases. Chances are they both make 125,000 upon graduation.

Law school in 2001: worth it.
Law school in 2010: what an absolute fucking rip off.

Sometimes you have to take a step back before you can . . . take another step back.

I imagine Columbia is the most expensive law school right now, given cost of living in NYC. Sucks for them that their prospects aren't significantly better than those from lower T10s. Some of them probably gave up scholarships to go to Columbia, where they get a summer job working with annoying 19-year-old sophomores.

My T1 State Law School has always advertised its undergrad career fair...welcome to jungle you ivy league brats!

9,

I read this blog every day (sadly), and your post is the first I've seen to predict salary's dropping to 125k. Whose predictions are you talking about? And for what market?

I would've guessed salary's would drop to more like 140-145k.

New reader and first-time poster here. I am looking for a website that reports news/gossip about all of the big firms and reputable law schools, but I have never heard of this school. Is there another website I should check out? Thanks.

I'm not sure this is such a big deal. Career Services only put this as an aside, rather than sending out a distinct email about an undergraduate career fair. Plus, I think they notified us about the fair last year, too. They've been presenting this as a way to network and perhaps seek out better-paying jobs than the ones offered to undergrads -- you can go up to a booth/table/whatever, explain your qualifications, and see whether the company might be looking to hire in other areas, as well.

wait, 10, are you shitting me? is this on their website? What a TTT!

*salaries.

everything sucks

Hmmm....lots of companies who are acutally hiring in recession are coming on campus and people are upset that CLS is advising people to go???? Just becuase the job listed only requires a B.A. doesn't mean that these companies have no jobs appropriate for J.Ds. If I didn't have a job lined up, I would be using the career fair as a wonderful opportunity to network.

The simple path of CLS -- OCI -- Biglaw job may not be in the stars for all CLS students. Accept it and think of alternative ways to find jobs. You never know - open networking might just land you a better job than OCI.

My message to the soon to be unemployed Columbia 3Ls:

Let them eat cake.

I am a college senior. I do not want to compete with law geeks for a job. Fortunately, I still have commonsense and a personality unlike the denuded lawheads waltzing around here.

They probably took so many transfers because some students who don't find BIGLAW SA positions will drop out.

Good point 18... those Columbia kids sound like real go-getters. That's the problem with law students... the sense of entitlement. Sorry kiddies, you're not the only ones who are taking it on the chin in this recession. Most of you were in diapers in the early 80's so you wouldn't recall that it was the same deal back then.

Going to law school for some people was a bad personal investment decision that is likely to make them poorer. They thought that three years of reading books and writing papers would make them richer but it turned out otherwise. Their debt enslavement will serve as a warning to all other applicants who view the law as a get rich quick scheme. If you do not have the passion and the talent, there is no place for you in any demanding profession. The money will still be there for the truly driven and gifted, but I see no place for those who believe that their social skills were all they needed to move permanently into the upper middle classes. In this environment, you gotta be real. Just being a fun guy to hang out with just ain’t gonna hack it.

Wow - tuition at CLS was 16k when I graduated n '94. And graduates from a few years before were incredulous at that. $46k is just absolutely unbelievable.
Seems our liberal universities do not seem to mind generally restricting their education, and the opportunities and leadership that follows it, to those born rich.
-Daniel

Wow - tuition at CLS was 16k when I graduated n '94. And graduates from a few years before were incredulous at that. $46k is just absolutely unbelievable.
Seems our liberal universities do not seem to mind generally restricting their education, and the opportunities and leadership that follows it, to those born rich.
-Daniel

Well, hopefully the JDs would have at least top pick of the undergrad job openings. TBH, top pick in the undergrad fair is probably better than scraping the barrel of the legal job market. I'd take it. There are tons of B.A.'s making more than small firm lawyers.

P.S. Salaries for new attorneys should be no more than $40,000. After tax, that should get you a cramped crappy studio apartment and just enough food so that you will not starve. When you prove that you can handle the pressure of being a real lawyer two to three years down the road, six figures become possible. Under the new and improved system, most of the supplicants will never get there. This way we can be certain that only the cream rises to the top.

26 - I agree that to go to law school, you had better be serious and passionate about the profession. If law schools were limited to those types of people, there would be a severe shortage of corporate lawyers right now. But actually, I think the social, fun types are precisely the type of people that will make it. Talent? Come on. Nothing we do is that difficult, its just time-consuming. This business is about having confidence to bring in clients and hold yourself together in tight, stressful situations. Clearly that's an oversimplification, but you get the point.

Are the female sharting rumors in Boston true?

Why does a school like Columbia, with such a large endowment, need to charge tuition at all?

I guess beggars CAN be choosers. And now this!

All the people who feel that $40,000 a year will not pay back their student loans should have thought about working part time while they were in school. Deferring all until they graduated was a very, very, very idea. Ah well, live and learn!

They send this email out every year. hth.

Why isn't this all convincing you to join a union? Seriously, is it such a terrible thing?

Michelle Obama likes to pretend that she left her firm because she is such a good person. Truth is they drove her out because she was a terrible attorney. That gives you an indication of how BIGLAW works.

32 - no.

How you like me now?

31 – Holding one under tight and stressful conditions is a talent that eludes most people, including a lot of so called big law corporate attorneys. If that confidence is not backed up by a deep knowledge base, the charlatan will be exposed as a fraud soon enough. You ought to know this. Back slapping happy Johnny is getting shafted in this round of contraction and frankly the profession will be much improved when the frat boys get washed out.

40 - i like you a lot better than obama - a man who's ego could never take the rigors of the real business world.

Did the tipster just get the memo that the economy is f^%king horrible? The vast majority of my friends do not have law jobs yet- deferrals which may never turn into jobs do not count.
- Class of 2009, T20 school

At least Columbia is being proactive-- I do think it is a little unethical for the "ready for Primetime" lawyer to compete for employment with Undergraduate Juniors and Seniors. This must be like going to a TT interview and finding your 60-year-old professor finishing an interview for the same job, and he golfs with a few of the partners (Oh, that is happening too??) Well, back to the point, isn't it interesting that the Universities with the top Law schools all have on their campuses the top MBA, Finance and Economics programs, yet none of the top schools, nor any on the lower tiers either , knew how to forecast demand. They certainly didn't run any models on the legal sector, or did they? After all they do have our $100K, $150K and $200K.

38 is a racist. You lie.

What is a "career fair?" I used my father's connections to secure a position at a peer firm.

If I am an employer and I have some 22 year old kid out of Wharton and some 25 year old kid out of Columbia Law School for a non-law job I'm going with the 22 year old kid because it seems the former had his shit together enough to make better choices. So I completely disagree with 44. Also, the 25 year old will think he is too good to do the non law job. Truth is he is worse than the 22 year old kid. Life sucks.

The hell with it. Im staying in my law school apartment and selling drugs to undergrads.

MAN FUCK THIS SHIT. FUCK ALL Y'ALL.

This would never happen at NYU.

Jesus Christ they send this e-mail out every year from the perspective that some law students want to go into finance. How big of fucking dipshits have the editors of this website become? Seriously. Oh yeah, 47 is a complete fucking idiot as well.

Yes it's true Michelle Obama was pushed out of her firm and not to mention failed the Illinois Bar. She was an AA jobber just like her husband and Sotomayor and Van Jones....it's sad because their floundering denigrates the legitimate minority students. AA is patronizing.

38: Yo, I'm happy for you, and I'mma let you finish, but the KKK were actually the greatest racists of ALL TIME...of ALL TIME...

~Kanye and Michelle, neither of whom really give a **** about your "opinion"

Fudruckers is currently accepting applications for part time hosts.

Experience with pizza shooters is required.

Here's what's funny about this:
The typical CLS kid comes in with, what, a 3.8 from an Ivy and a 170LSAT?
And he's pretty much cock-off-the-walk, so to speak. There's a chance he's one of the more capable people in his generation.
Then he finishes below median in his first year.
And he's clearly NOT that capable, because if he was, he wouldn't be below average compared to all the other kids with 3.8s and 170 LSATs
So his job opportunities are no better (and should be worse) than they were before. You were a hot prospect, now you've failed in the big leagues.
And yet, people think you should be paid MORE than you were after UG? If you want to be paid, stop failing at your work.

I suppose I should know the answer to this, but is Columbia Law School accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the American And International Associations of Law Schools?

32, what is the rumor? It sounds good though!

"I imagine Columbia is the most expensive law school right now, given cost of living in NYC. Sucks for them that their prospects aren't significantly better than those from lower T10s. "

It may be true that CLS students' prospects aren't better this year than those of 'lower T10s' in a normal year. However, while many CLS students can still get a market-paying job, the vast majority of 'lower T10' students can't.

55 - how is falling below median at Columbia law school mean that someone is not capable when compared to other 3.8s and 170s. That makes no sense. Everyone there is capable but some have to fall below median.

My law school sent out a mass e-mail encouraging all students to go to a minority event at the New York City Bar... that was an interesting experience.

I suppose I should know the answer to this, but is Columbia Law School accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the American And International Associations of Law Schools?

@32 - yes, I was there last weekend. Disgusting.

@ 47
This is 44. My point exactly, If the focus of the Job Fair is searching for employees among the Undergraduates, then the best, most talented, present Senior your firm can attract and who graduates should be hired. They should not have to face competition from Professional degree and graduate students. Keep their playing field level-- even in this pissy economy.

Columbia law school...is this the same place as Columbia School of Broadcasting?

55- More capable people of his generation?

Please. Get a grip.

Some of the more capable people of their generation- those dudes who started google, Usain Bolt, Tiger Woods, maybe some neuroscientist dudes at MIT.

Columbia law students = diligent students with good grades and standardized tests.

Further proof that state schools where you get instate tuition are the way to go. Until students stop applying, law school tuition will continue to go up. Unfortunately, it will lead to more whining about the need for student loan bailouts from those who didn't plan accordingly--or realistically. If you have over $100k in debt you should be banned from taking the bar for being stupid.

Don't go to law school because you think you'll make 160K. Go to law school because you think you might enjoy being a lawyer.

More proof that NYU is better than Columbia.

Can we do a post on firms expanding? Baker Hostetler is opening a Chicago office. I know there have to be other firms that were well-positioned for this economy and are now able to take advantage.

Even my T25 state school's in-state tuition is $31k. Add in living costs and you are still in over $100k debt.

That post is no news. CLS has always opened the undergrad job fair. When I was a 2L there in 2002 they had done the same thing. No big deal.

23 -" I am a college senior. I do not want to compete with law geeks for a job. Fortunately, I still have commonsense and a personality unlike the denuded lawheads waltzing around here."

Don't worry 23. Law students are not hard to compete with, seeing that they're a bunch of entitlement oriented brats who offer no substantive knowledge or skills to the business world outside of imposed laws. If you have a good understanding of math, economics, some basic programming skills (for VBA, Excel, Access), and you don't treat your interview like a sorority rush, you'll be lightyears ahead of almost all law students in competing for business jobs.

If you went to undergrad at TTT State and now you have access to the Columbia undergrad job fair, that's still a step up. Maybe not a huge one, but having an Ivy League law school on your resume can't hurt, even if the benefits may take a while to materialize in this economy.

I, for one, never went to law school with the intention of working at a big firm. I wanted doors to open with my degree, and they certainly have. Not wanting to be a corporate law drone is a path that many grads take. What's so odd about it?

70--sorry about your luck.

I totally agree with 66. The perpetual adolescence of our society dictatates that a 22 year old person is too naive and vulnerable to understand the risk of a 200,000 dollar investment. These people are willing to throw down 200,000 without knowing the odds? Too bad. You need to grow up some time. Law schools are no less a crass business than a used car lot.

WHAT A FREAKXKXIN TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

What biglaw outfit do you work at that's filled with a bunch of frat boys? My firm is filled with a bunch of geeks - the kind of people that would sit in a room with no natural light for 18 hours straight trying to figure out how the Marshall Court would decide Lopez.

17 = Columbia Career Services Department

It is my understanding that Primerica is hiring. The firm terminated an associate a few weeks ago and his voicemail was finally purged last week. Among the messages left for the departed associate were from Primerica Financial offering him to be on their team. Here is a tip to the unemployed lawyer/law graduate: learn the rule of 72 and join Primerica's team. That is all.

PE -- the new lawyers' union will be pounding on your door soon!

PE -- the new lawyers' union will be pounding on your door soon!

Good Bloomberg story on no-offers:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=avCjq2MsxrnQ

Maybe I'll consider my career opportunity with ******** as a financial consultant instead of going to law school...

The hysteria is out of control. They sent the same email last year. As others have mentioned, they want to inform students of banking/finance/etc. opportunities.

Guys at my high school used to attend undergraduate job fairs all the time. It was no big deal.

There is a surprisingly low number of NYU trolling posts on this post.

80/PE - you did shtick about a suicide. Go away.

34

love it

THANKS Bob Dell

If you go to Columbia Law School, you should be worried about your job prospects.

Long time reader, first time poster.

The arrogance and condescension of some of the posters here is astounding. I am amazed at those who first criticize law students for feeling "entitled" to certain jobs and then imply or state that he or she (the poster) has "earned" his or her own BigLaw position.

Yes, law students with good credentials expected to get good jobs, in the same way that BigLaw lawyers expected to keep their jobs or advance in their careers. The economic downturn has disappointed legitimate expectations for all parties.

We all understand that this is a business. We are disappointed that business is bad. I am disappointed that bad business has led to some BigLaw lawyers being jerks to newcomers, taking joy in slamming the BigLaw door behind them, and claiming that disappointed expectations equals snotty entitlement.

I will be in BigLaw this summer, and I hope that when I get there, I will be valued for working hard and not abused out of a partner's own sense of entitlement to do so.

I think they were encouraging law students to go hit on undergrads at the career fair.

92 - good luck -

We need to bomb career fairs back to the stoneage!

-DOJ Secure

The ship be sinking...

The ship be sinking . . .

Well at least these kids go to Columbia.

Can you imagine paying that kind of tuition for NYU right now? All the debt and half the prestige of Columbia. Plus, you have to spend so much time explaining the difference between NYLS and NYULS.

Columbia will always be around. Alexander Hamilton went there. NYU may come and go the way of TTT. I would much rather go to somewhere with more tradition than NYU.

27/28 ("Daniel"):
"restricting their education, and the opportunities and leadership that follows it, to those born rich. "

You're missing the point. Tuition perpetually booms because the government constantly gluts the market with funny-money loans, which are targeted at lower- to middle-income types. The schools simply increase their tuition as a response to the limitless funds pouring out of the government in loans that are risk-free from the creditor's perspective, because it is guaranteed by the government, and risk-free from the government's perspective, because it's not their money committed but that of the taxpayers.
This is the source of the tuition boom (just as FED funnymoney is the source of the tech-bubble and reals estate-babbule booms).

27/28 ("Daniel"):
"restricting their education, and the opportunities and leadership that follows it, to those born rich. "

You're missing the point. Tuition perpetually booms because the government constantly gluts the market with funny-money loans, which are targeted at lower- to middle-income types. The schools simply increase their tuition as a response to the limitless funds pouring out of the government in loans that are risk-free from the creditor's perspective, because it is guaranteed by the government, and risk-free from the government's perspective, because it's not their money committed but that of the taxpayers.
This is the source of the tuition boom (just as FED funnymoney is the source of the tech-bubble and reals estate-babbule booms).

BHO + AA = HLS

HLS + AA = POTUS

BHO + POTUS = USA TTT

95 = EPIC SCHTICK FAIL LOSER

PE you did schtick about suicide...and it was funny. Keep up the good work Lat ... err PE

Uh 102, the President is an elected official. The AA argument is retarded.
As an aside, you're joking yourself if you think black people are GIVEN anything of substance. Generally, when we are allowed "opportunity" it comes at a point when the job/thing we are given is already failing.
Enter the U.S. economy. Get off the AA train and accept the fact that you're just not competiTTTive.

104 = Yolanda Young.

So you are saying that Obama was given the presidency now - and no black man was given it previously - because the presidency was no longer coveted and therefore "the man" let Obama have the presidency. That's typical AA talk.

This comment is addressed to post no. 103.

In the past few months, someone has been consistently posting that I did a "schtick" about suicide. This is untrue and I challenge you to prove otherwise. I do recall commenting on a story involving an attorney that killed himself via a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. I commented that said attorney took a coward's way out of dealing with the harsh reality that prestige alone is not enough to survive in this world. I stand by that comment albeit it was a tragic event but let us not forget that the attorney who committed suicide was a thoughtless coward that left a widow and children to fend for themselves.

98/99, takes balls to troll for columbia over nyu in the thread where your retard ocs recommends you fight for undergrad-level jobs

Better to be a big fish in a small pond, I suppose. http://www.goodsharks.com

The jobs recommended by OCS are done every single year. I look over the beautiful Hudson River on the Upper West Side while you play with homeless hippies in the Village. Take a bath and then consider transferring to Columbia if it is not too late.

this blog needs a new schtick

10 - ha. that can't be true, can it? 100!? attention transfer students: I have no respect for you. keep climbing that ladder though. maybe some day I will. (not likely.)

Columbia took so many transfer students this year because they need to make up for losing endowment cash. Transfers don't hurt incoming GPA and LSAT scores.

I'm pretty sure most of the NYU-bashers are NYU students hoping to provoke a Columbia backlash.

I recently accepted a 2 year clerkship and am happy to say that I won't have to give a shit about visiting this website for another three years. See you suckers in 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

US news should use LSAT and GPA from graduating classes as opposed to incoming classes. It would be interesting to see how far down transfers drive those stats. The Columbia stats, if in fact they accepted 100, will be driven down considerably.

This comment is addressed to post no. 106

I don't really care if you did schtick about suicide; just tired of 88's trolling. Maybe you should address your comment to that poster. Now, go take a nap.

That is all.

Law schools should be required to publish GPA/LSAT stats for AA jobbers and transfer students. I think it would be shocking to some.

107,

Everyone knows when you jerk off the blood rushes from your head to your johnson. Wait 'till AFTER you post to spank the monkey next time.

-104

What's this obsession with transfer students? the same prestigious school that decides you're so damn special, decides that the transfers are also worthy. I don't get it. Does the fact that someone could be a TTT student one day and in the same class with you the next day rock your world a little too much?

Exactly right 120. The truth is that the same student who bombed the LSATS will be able to boast at family get togethers about his ivy law degree. But make no mistake about it 120 this is about money not about an ivy suddenly deciding that some TTT is now simply too brilliant to pass on.

Graduate of AU WCL where we were highly encouraged to look at non legal careers. I have friends who are happily enjoying stints in policy jobs, development agencies, international organizations, and the foreign service. There is so much more to law than biglaw and litigation. Open your eyes!

I did my first year as TTT. Then transferred to T20. I understood the deal - the T20 wanted my money - and I wanted the T20 prestige. It was simple quid pro quo.

The problem with transfers is that they take up spots at EIW (w/e Columbia calls their OCI). 100 is something like 25% of the incoming class. That is a lot of additional people suddenly showing up. Columbia threw its rising second years under the bus in order to get more tuition cash from transfers.

Given the current economic environment, the reduction in corporate demand for legal services, and the large contraction in the legal job market, it's not surprising that law students might need to seek employment in other fields. This year's legal job market is far worse than at any time in recent memory, with steep cutbacks in recruiting, no-offers for summer associates, deferrals of starting dates even for those offered jobs, and layoffs affecting even first-year associates. Basically, things haven't been this bad since the Great Depression, and job prospects are grim for many of this year's 3Ls and 2Ls.

3Ls applying for judicial clerkships, which have traditionally been jobs for new law graduates, are now facing considerable competition from current clerks seeking a second year of clerkship rather than moving on to corporate firms, associates laid off from corporate firms, and associates who still have jobs but can see the handwriting on the wall. If law graduates from past years are poaching on the job opportunities for 3Ls, it shouldn't be a surprise that law students may have to compete with college graduates for non-legal jobs.

It's foolish to ridicule law students for undertaking an expensive professional education. They are certainly not the only people who failed to anticipate that the Republicans would do such a bad job of governing from 2001 to 2008 that liquidity would disappear in the credit markets, the stock market would crash, large financial services firms would need government bailouts to avoid bankruptcy, corporate demand for legal services would plummet, and the job prospects for law students would crater. We are dealing now, and will be dealing for many years to come, with the economic consequences of the Republicans' incompetence and malfeasance in office.

For those lampooning Columbia Law, most of the major Wall Street law firms were founded by graduates of Columbia, one of the country's oldest and strongest law schools. With those firms now in deep trouble due to the sharp decline in the financial services industry, however, the hiring that formerly provided employment for many 3Ls has all but evaporated. With even top-ranked 3Ls from Harvard, Yale and Stanford having an exceptionally tough time finding jobs, it should come as no surprise that students at Columbia are also having difficulty.

The economy appears to be reaching a transition point between recession and recovery, but the recovery may be slow, gradual and anemic, and it may be a long time before the legal job market recovers. Like everybody else, 3Ls will need to find employment wherever they can until the job market improves.

It actually may be a windfall for the Columbia transfer student. The CLS gets in - and then the market recovers in time to provide prestigious jobs. The realizes that this jacks up the summer associate offer schedule but nevertheless a CLS grad will never want for work and that's all you can hope for nowadays.

No CLS backlash because they are all busy working

All y'all are going to struggle in life.

-Latham Secure

I want my last name to be associated with prestige. I've spent my whole life chasing other brand names. Fuck that - I want my ass kissed a little. I want obnoxious American social climbers to crawl over themselves trying to be associated with me. Yeah, that's the ticket. (spoken with 1930's voice)

Folks, CLS admitted 75 transfer students this year and 64 the year before. It was no big deal.

we're still doing better than the rest of you~~~~~

I feel for all the students a schools ranked 10-100+ – especially the ones in private schools. Such a waste of time and money

I feel for all the students a schools ranked 10-100+ – especially the ones in private schools. Such a waste of time and money.

123 - There is no functional difference between a T20 and a TTT.

-Latham Secure

errr there is no such thing as latham secure

130 -- CLS '06 grad. With one or two exceptions (a former Reinhart clerk comes to mind), the transfer students at CLS are mouth-breathing slackjawed idiots. 75 of them, 64 of them, whatever the number, the majority of them couldn't hack the LSAT and ended up transferring from TTT schools like the University of Maryland.

You guys should have chosen a better career path, like I-banking.

Lehman Secure!

at least the transfers did well at something...first year at TTT...AA jobbers never have to prove themselves...they become president and dick around making speeches

138, Not to admit the validity of your argument, but even under your criteria, to be fair to the president, he did transfer into Columbia as an undergrad. Presumably, his first few years at Occidental he would have had to prove himself.

Actually he admitted himself that he did poorly at Occidental - hence no Occidental transcipt - it is also unclear whether he attended real classes at Columbia or simply just a visiting program. Also, we have no Columbia transcript. No LSAT score. No Harvard transcript. He used AA to get into Columbia...then used AA to get into Harvard...then used AA to accuse HLR of racism...even though they let him in because of AA....he also has an ugly wife and was a bench warmer on hs basketball....the guy is a fraud

Seriously, anyone who is a current 1L staring down $100k+ in debt before they graduate deserves the impending trip to bankruptcy court as a debtor. Enjoy the ride!

nobody will suspect i'm a racist if I claim the only way for a black man to get anywhere is to cry racism cause that would make them look racist, it is so unfair blacks took all the t14 slots...and the t1 slots...and the t2 slots, really, the white man is truly ****** of the world

141- that's not possible, you can't discharge student loans in bankruptcy. Unfortunately.

Do you think the MBA students are getting these same emails?

It was always true that the bottom half of the law school classes would support the top tier students. Now this rule is only more true today.

142 = racist

TTT exists for two purposes : 1) as a feeder to local courts and shitlaw and 2) as a place to send minority students so they do not drive down the scores of T10.

I think Columbia got it exactly right. If you get a law degree from a good law school today, it is the equivalent of getting a liberal arts degree from a top college in the 1960s. If it opens the door to get a non-law job at a top organization, it is well worth it. If it doesn't, then it was a waste. No one in law school should even consider practicing law. Read Richard Susskind's book - End of Lawyers. He has it exactly right. This is the end.

The loans are a veritable noose around your neck the moment one takes admission in a law school, especially law school.

I think we've established a few facts in the course of this discussion:

1. Join law school or for that matter any profession only for the love of it and not the money.

2. Being a law graduate, one is expected to be abreast of the latest developments in the markets, financial services, society, economy and the like. If one was even remotely following the subprime crisis before it blew up, those complaining of not seeing the recesion coming would have done well to take up part time jobs to buffer any acute aftershocks of the initial stages of the recession.

3. What this crisis will do is separate the marathon runners from the sprinters. Those who were in law school to make a quick buck because of their ivy league credentials, or their schmoozing will be disappointed and will probably look at other professions.

4. Some are genuinely unfortunate to have graduated in the midst of a recession. Your CTC to the law firm will be, needless to elaborate, lower than previous years and accordingly, your career earnings would be fractionally lower.

5. This is not a related point but this recession can serve as an opportunity for law graduates to examine what other challenges lie ahead in the employment market for lawyers. With the harmonisation of legal education systems not too far and with India and China taking commendable strides in making provisions for legal education, expect to see an exponentially higher number of lawyers from these jurisdictions practising in financial centers like NYC, London, Chicago and places like DC, Houston etc. This impending development would be hastened by the fact that cross border transactions from India and China towards the US will increase over the years and US lawyers should be prepared for clients to demand lawyers that are proficient in both laws.

My best wishes to all graduates and law students and here's hoping for a considerably improved market for you guys.

Al Gore.

Winner Nobel Prize, 2007.
Winner Oscar for Best Documentary 2007.
Former Vice President
Author of the 'Assault on Reason' - #1 on the NYT Bestselling List for 4 weeks.
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album, 2009.
Named one of Foreign Policy Magazine's Top 100 Public Intellectuals

The loans are a veritable noose around your neck the moment one takes admission in a law school, especially law school.

I think we've established a few facts in the course of this discussion:

1. Join law school or for that matter any profession only for the love of it and not the money.

2. Being a law graduate, one is expected to be abreast of the latest developments in the markets, financial services, society, economy and the like. If one was even remotely following the subprime crisis before it blew up, those complaining of not seeing the recesion coming would have done well to take up part time jobs to buffer any acute aftershocks of the initial stages of the recession.

3. What this crisis will do is separate the marathon runners from the sprinters. Those who were in law school to make a quick buck because of their ivy league credentials, or their schmoozing will be disappointed and will probably look at other professions.

4. Some are genuinely unfortunate to have graduated in the midst of a recession. Your CTC to the law firm will be, needless to elaborate, lower than previous years and accordingly, your career earnings would be fractionally lower.

5. This is not a related point but this recession can serve as an opportunity for law graduates to examine what other challenges lie ahead in the employment market for lawyers. With the harmonisation of legal education systems not too far and with India and China taking commendable strides in making provisions for legal education, expect to see an exponentially higher number of lawyers from these jurisdictions practising in financial centers like NYC, London, Chicago and places like DC, Houston etc. This impending development would be hastened by the fact that cross border transactions from India and China towards the US will increase over the years and US lawyers should be prepared for clients to demand lawyers that are proficient in both laws.

My best wishes to all graduates and law students and here's hoping for a considerably improved market for you guys.

Al Gore.

Winner Nobel Prize, 2007.
Winner Oscar for Best Documentary 2007.
Former Vice President
Author of the 'Assault on Reason' - #1 on the NYT Bestselling List for 4 weeks.
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album, 2009.
Named one of Foreign Policy Magazine's Top 100 Public Intellectuals

This is a funny blog. Do what I did - go to medical school. It's only one extra year in school (they do pay you during residency) and there are zillions of high paying jobs.

This is a funny blog. Do what I did - go to medical school. It's only one extra year in school (they do pay you during residency) and there are zillions of high paying jobs.