Law Schools

Asked And Answered: Should You Go To Law School In 2018? (Part I)

Or should prospective law students consider a different path?

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I was recently contacted by a young man who was considering attending law school. He told me he’d approached other lawyers for their input on the value of a law degree in 2018 and had received “mixed signals.” He was wondering if I could provide my opinion, which I did (see below).

After doing so, I wondered what my online network of lawyers had to say about the issue. So last Wednesday I posed this question to  them on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn: “Would you recommend attending law school to a recent college grad in 2018? Why or why not?”

I received over 125 responses, so it’s a topic that obviously resonates with my colleagues. The replies ran the gamut, with some recommending law school, while many others didn’t. And of course, the always-lawyerly answer — “it depends” — cropped up quite a bit.

The responses included so much wisdom from so many perspectives that I decided to create a three-part series on this issue. Today’s post will answer the question, “Should prospective law students consider law school in 2018?” In my next column, I’ll provide advice from my colleagues offered to prospective law students. Finally, in Part 3, I’ll provide the answer to a third, as yet unasked question: “Did your law degree benefit your life and career?”

So let’s turn to the first question: whether attending law school is advisable in 2018. For starters, here is how I replied to the young man’s question:

I wish I had better news, but prospects for new lawyers aren’t great. There are a lot of factors changing the legal market, ranging from economic influences (which began with the economic downturn in 2008), to technological change, along with increased competition from multiple sources. All of these forces contribute to the declining legal job market and are causing increased stress and lack of job satisfaction for current lawyers. Also problematic is that recent graduates tend to emerge from law school deep in debt with no light at the end of the tunnel given the depressed market. And to make matters worse, most law schools aren’t doing a great job educating students to succeed in the face of all the changes.

That being said, if you go in with your eyes open and lay the right groundwork, you’ll have a better chance at having a satisfying legal career. The key is to have a full understanding of all the changes occurring and how they’re affecting the delivery of legal services and then to position yourself to take advantage of the changes once you graduate. Also, I would highly recommend that you read the book “Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future” by Richard Susskind from cover to cover prior to committing to law school.

Many of my colleagues were opposed to the idea of attending law school in 2018, and many others were on the fence. The respondents in this camp focused on a number of themes, including the financial burden often assumed by recent law graduates, the depressed job market, and the rapidly changing legal landscape. Here are a handful of replies that sum up many of the issues raised by those who weren’t wholeheartedly in favor of pursuing a law degree in 2018:

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Will Geer, a Atlanta-based lawyer (Facebook): If you want to start your own firm and be a small business owner, then yes. If you want to be anything other than a lawyer, don’t go to law school. I wholeheartedly disagree with the suggestion to college grads to go to law school because the education will benefit you with a non-legal profession. Sure, it have some value, but not when considering the three years of lost human capital in a specific industry and, more importantly, the cost.

Nick Rishwain, JD @expertsdotcomvp, VP of Business Development, Experts.com (Twitter): It would depend on the reason for going. If they are looking at as a way to earn a great living, then I would not. It is not what it was 30 years ago. Also, shorter and less expensive graduate degrees may offer more versatility (anything tech-related or combo of tech and business). 

@dluippold, San Diego-based attorney (Twitter): I’d try to ascertain the answer to the basic question: “Do you want to practice law?” If yes, then go. If anything other than a resounding yes, e.g.: “I want to work in politics” or “you can do so much with a JD!” Then I’d advise looking at other grad school/professional paths. In my experience, a lot of people in the foundation camp think “law school” because it’s all they really know. For people who were into debate and government-type stuff in high school and college, law school is the natural progression, when often, these days, business school or even some certification courses (project manager-type stuff) give you more education in managing enterprises and organizations. 

Markus Hartmann, New York City-based attorney (LinkedIn): I would offer up the lawyerly “it depends.”  Is the 2018 grad a STEM major? If so, then going to law school with an eye on being an IP lawyer in general and/or a patent lawyer in particular is probably a better financial investment than that of a liberal arts major who will graduate with a naked JD, all other things being equal. Being a lawyer is an identity and law schools depend on that for recruiting purposes. So those of us who care about the people we give advice to need to be very clear about the financial costs and the opportunity costs involved in pursuit of the JD. The fact that over 1/3 of law grads are taking jobs that don’t require a JD should give any sane person cause for concern.  Anyone contemplating the investment of time and money should be familiar with the concepts of NPV and ROI and look at the potential $200,000 or more in costs like a business owner or financial manager. Is law school my best investment? What other investments have I considered? Like so many other business ventures, so much depends on the individual that it is difficult to even give general advice about such a huge and risky (as in far more risky than it was 20 years ago) venture. 

Of course, not everyone was opposed to the idea of going to law school in 2018. Some lawyers believed that a law degree could conferred many benefits upon the recipient. Those in favor of attending law school stressed the value of the education, regardless of whether you chose to practice law or pursued other career options:

Phillip R. Hurwitz, Rochester, NY attorney (LinkedIn): If the graduate can articulate why they want to be a lawyer, acknowledge the financial risk involved and their willingness to bear that load, and accept that having a J.D. is no guarantee — then yes, go for it.

Kathleen Dillon, Los Angeles-based attorney (Facebook): Yes, for the education alone. My entire life has been enhanced by my legal education. I am much more logical, can distill the essence of conflicts and situations, and feel capable to break down issues. And that doesn’t go to the amazing work you can do for the underserved populations. Obviously, the cost is an issue, if you aren’t planning on working at Biglaw. But it is a tremendous education, and I think that attorney CEOs and attorney nonprofit executives are probably much better prepared for their work than non attorneys.

Mark Beese, President, Leadership for Lawyers (Facebook): I teach at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. I have between 7 and 15 students a year. I would say only about 30 percent of them go on to pursue a traditional law firm job. The rest go in house, become legal counsel or a leader in their family business, go into policy or politics, or pursue an entrepreneurial path. Some have huge debt, but others have found creative ways to pay for law school and have the freedom to pursue non-law firm jobs. Honestly, a lot of them are not interested in a “traditional” law firm career.

What do you think? Is is worth it to attend law school in 2018? Or should prospective law students consider a different path?

And, importantly, what advice would you provide to recent college graduates who are intent on the idea of attending law school? How can they make the most of their law school experience and position themselves for future success while accumulating the least amount of debt? Tune in two weeks from now for lots of great insight on that very topic.

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Niki BlackNicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and the Legal Technology Evangelist at MyCase, web-based law practice management software. She’s been blogging since 2005, has written a weekly column for the Daily Record since 2007, is the author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York. She’s easily distracted by the potential of bright and shiny tech gadgets, along with good food and wine. You can follow her on Twitter @nikiblack and she can be reached at [email protected].

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