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. He’s joined in some of these videos by an acting professional: Johnny Kastl, television actor turned 2L at Iowa Law, better known to some of you as Dr. Doug Murphy of “Scrubs.”
In the last video, Birdthistle and Kastl tackled the Greek debt crisis. Sadly enough, that problem remains unsolved, to the detriment of the world’s financial markets.
Today’s topic isn’t going away anytime soon either. If you have — or are thinking of taking on — student loans, keep reading….

The Law Firm’s Guide To Trust Accounting And Three-Way Reconciliation
Proper trust accounting and three-way reconciliation are essential for protecting client funds and avoiding serious compliance risks. In this guide, we break down these critical processes and show how legal-specific software can help your firm stay accurate, efficient, and audit-ready.
Here’s the video. Birdthistle and Kastl cover such subjects as the value proposition of going to law school, the income-based repayment program, and the treatment of student loans in bankruptcy (a hot topic, discussed recently by Staci Zaretsky and Elie Mystal). Check it out:
Lawyers & Economics: Student Debt [YouTube]

Paying for Law School in 2025: A Straight-Talk Playbook
Juno has consistently secured the best private loan deals for students at the Top MBA programs since 2018—now they’re bringing that same offer to law students, at no cost. Students can check their personalized offers at juno.us/atl This article is for general information only and is not personal financial advice.