Welcome to the latest installment of Lawyers & Economics, our occasional video series on financial topics by Professor William Birdthistle of Chicago-Kent College of Law. Today's topic isn't going away anytime soon. If you have -- or are thinking of taking on -- student loans, keep reading....
Yale is making a slight change to its low-income loan forgiveness program, and it’s going to make it a little harder for people who leave Yale Law School and take low-paying jobs. Now, this isn’t anything to yell and scream about. Yale is still committed to making loan repayment feasible for people who don’t take […]
Legal work isn’t slowing down, and the firms that win won’t be the ones working harder — they’ll be the ones working smarter.
More and more law school graduates are trying to seek bankruptcy protection from their mountains of student loan debt. Now, we know that reading comprehension is tested on the LSAT, but apparently, once students complete the law school entrance exam, that skill goes right out the window. How do we know? Because law school graduates, who freely signed up for student loans as law students, are now trying to shirk their repayment responsibilities....
As you know, some people have taken to suing law schools because despite the education and expense, they find themselves unemployed. Suing people is such an American way of handling a problem. “Wahhh, your system took advantage of me and thousands like me. I’m angry. I’m gonna sue you, and even if I lose, it’ll […]
* First the Jones verdict, then the Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Jose Padilla’s torture lawsuit. It’s enough to make ACLUers develop bipolar disorder. [Washington Post] * Release the Kagan! The Supreme Court rejected Freedom Watch’s motion for time to argue that Justice Elena Kagan should recuse herself from the Obamacare case. [CNN] * […]
There's a really funny post up on Constitutional Daily, in which the protagonist -- who holds a J.D. from NYU Law and was laid off from Biglaw during the recession -- recounts his inability to secure a job at Target. It got us thinking of that other great lie that law schools tell incoming law students: "Yada yada, you can do anything with a law degree... also, I'd like to interest you in partial ownership of the Brooklyn Bridge." But many J.D. holders have found out the hard way that holding a law degree only opens doors to "law" jobs. They aren't degrees of general utility. If anything, they close more doors than they open....
LexisNexis sat down with John Ursin, Managing Partner at Schenck Price, to learn how the firm is using legal AI to strengthen client service and daily legal work.
When the story about the head of the ABA's tactless remarks broke, Elie had the good fortune of being in Washington, D.C., at the annual conference of the Association of American Law Schools. Law school professionals -- the people who have to deal with the perception of general ABA incompetence on a day-to-day basis -- were not at all happy with William Robinson's comments....
William Robinson, the newly appointed president of the American Bar Association, is taking a stand on the status quo of legal education in our country. But instead calling for reform, Robinson is defending the ABA's role, stating that young lawyers "should have known what they were getting into." Isn't it wonderful to know that the man in charge of the ABA is essentially playing the "blame the victim" card when it comes to debt-saddled and unemployed law school graduates?
* Someone figured out exactly what’s on every nerdy lawyer’s holiday wish list: an iPhone app for PACER. Get it while it’s hot — it’s free! [iTunes App Store] * The First Amendment will always reign supreme, even if people are harassing religious old ladies on the Twitter. [Underdog] * Legalizing same-sex marriage is like […]
The National Law Journal reports that Jim Chen, Dean of the Louisville School of Law, has come up with an easy to apply salary figure to determine whether law school was a financially sound decision on a case-by-case basis. I'd like for people who constantly defend the value of law school to start pointing out the high salaried jobs that are needed to make law school worth it....
With the addition of Uncover’s technology, the litigation software is delivering rapid innovation.
The issue du jour is whether or not it is worth getting more education to get a (better) job. Valerie Katz is talking about the Small Business LLM from Concord Law School. Tuition is $600 per credit hour, or $14,400 for the program. Is it worth it? Let’s discuss the pros and cons....
* The Supreme Court will hear Obama’s challenge to Arizona’s immigration law. Upside: we can probably expect a decision by June. Downside: Lady Kaga has to sit her ass out. [New York Times] * Depressing fact of the day: unless you’re earning six times your law school’s annual tuition, you’ll probably never be able to […]
Welcome to Lawyers & Economics, a new video series on financial topics by Professor William Birdthistle of Chicago-Kent College of Law. Professor Birdthistle, who teaches corporate law, has been preparing well-received videos for his students on a variety of subjects related to economics and finance. We’ve previously linked to some of his work, which received […]
* The American Bar Association can’t handle law schools, yet Obama trusts them to vet potential judicial nominees. Well, seems like they’re doing a bang-up job with that, too. [New York Times] * First the New Jersey bar exam results, and now more MF Global drama. Angry investors want to know if a lawsuit will […]
* You know what, screw the neighborhood. There goes the freakin’ country. Congress’s bipartisan, not-so-super committee has failed to reach an agreement for a deficit reduction deal. [CNN] * “When the government takes action . . . there are legal limits to what they can do.” And one of those limits is that they can’t […]