I’m not paraphrasing Emperor Palpatine because it’s finals period. I’m paraphrasing my Sith master because I prophesied what would happen to law students long before purple electricity was coursing through their teeth. LexisNexis has a new survey out on law school happiness. The ABA Journal reports:

It’s not surprising that law students are a discontented lot.
A new survey by LexisNexis found that, based on the changing legal marketplace, 21 percent of law students regret attending law school. Thirty-five percent said they don’t feel adequately prepared to succeed in the new marketplace, and 65 percent said law schools don’t teach the practical business skills needed in today’s economy, according to the survey summary (PDF posted by Legal Blog Watch).

Will law school deans listen to the cries of their students? Probably not as long as there are future students willing to ignore the data and pay tuition.
As you well know, it doesn’t get much better for lawyers that survive the law school experience.
Details after the jump.

The competition between firm lawyers and in-house counsel really tells you all you need to know about the state of the legal economy:

Those students who do find jobs will find deep divisions between in-house lawyers and the law firms they hire, the survey shows. Only 38 percent of corporate counsel believe that law firms are being responsive about changing fees and costs given the current economic recession. Fifty-eight percent say they believe law firms are too profitable.
On the other side, 77 percent of private lawyers believe their clients are too focused on reducing costs, at the expense of quality and long-term results. The results show “widely divergent views on the state of the legal industry and the future of the law firm business model,” according to Legal Blog Watch.

In-house lawyers think firms make too much money? Biglaw lawyers think that clients are too concerned with costs? Okay folks, maybe it’s time to go back to worrying about your own business models.
In any event, enjoy finals, law students. You’ve picked a hell of a time to enter this profession.
As Law Firms Respond to Crisis, 21% of Law Students Regret Choice [ABA Journal]
Firms, Clients Differ on Legal Industry’s Forecast [Legal Blog Watch]