Law Schools

All The Cool (And Smart) Kids Are Staying Away From Law School

If you're smart, you probably want to steer clear of law school.

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So, the “Trump Bump” appears to be a real thing. That’s the notion that, in the wake of the surprise election of Donald Trump, more people are applying to go to law school. Indeed, over 30 percent of recent applicants cite the 2016 election as a motivating factor in applying to law schools. While those numbers are encouraging for law school administrators that need to put butts in seats to keep the lights on, it doesn’t say anything about the quality of the applicants.

From both anecdotal and statistical metrics, we are in the midst of a law school brain drain, with the best and the brightest taking a hard pass at law school. Applicants with terrible LSAT scores are applying to law schools in droves, causing a crisis in legal education. Remember, going to law school is only half of the “become a lawyer” equation. You still need to pass the bar exam when you graduate. And on that front, things don’t look so great — former head of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, Erica Moeser, called today’s law school graduates “less able” to pass the bar exam. Yikes.

Now comes another statistical measure from the most recent law school application cycle that indicates the overall quality of law students is on the decline. As reported by Associate’s Mind, the number of law school applicants from top undergraduate institutions dropped 6.7 percent from 2016 to 2017. This is particularly bad since, after steady decline from 2008, last year’s applicant pool actually saw a small (1.2 percent) increase in people with undergrad degrees from elite institutions. With the most recent set of numbers, it’s clear last year was an aberration, and the overall downward trend is continuing.

Since 2008, law school applications from people with degrees from top universities has plummeted a staggering 44.9 percent. It’ll take more than a few years of despotic rule by an orange man-child to change that trend.

headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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