http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/10/19/law-student-worried-about-debt-wants-his-money-back/
I found a very thought provoking article in the news today. In Wallet Pop, Jonathan Berr reports about a student at Boston College Law School who wants to drop out of law school and has told the school that he would do so in exchange for a tuition refund. He had hopes to become a successful attorney, but with a wife who is pregnant with a child due soon, he has his doubts. As the article states, the student reveals his frustrations of dire job prospects, paying off huge loans and trying to raise a family.
The debt itself is a very daunting task to deal with when trying to raise a wife and children. Many people think Law school is the golden opportunity, when in fact it will just leave you with mountains of debt.
The sad part is that Boston College is a very well respected law school. It's one of the top 25 law schools in nation. This is not some second, third or fourth tier toilet law school. However, this recession is affecting all law school graduates, including grads of top schools.
In fact, a good friend of mine has a father who is a very successful Corporate Attorney at one of the worlds largest firms. In fact, he is a senior partner who graduated from one of the top 3 law schools in the country ( I will give you a hint: HYS). His office is in a beautiful skyscraper in the Beverly Hills/Century City areas of west Los Angeles.
She told him that I was a paralegal without a paycheck and he wanted to help me get a job. I met up with him and he told me about how the financial crisis of 2007-2010 has drastically changed hiring for many major firms. He said that they would love to hire me on as a Paralegal, but the recession has dealt serious blows to the firm and they have laid off a bunch of staff. They will resume hiring new staff in late 2011 or 2012 at the earliest, so until then he can't help me.
I even told him about the story I read in the aforementioned article and then he got very serious. He said that even graduates from the best law schools are having hard times finding jobs these days. Ouch!
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THE BOTTOM LINE:
Listen folks, all you pre law majors running around thinking you will make big bucks going to law school are in for one rude awakening. You may think you can impress people with a BA in Philosophy, a 170 on the LSAT and by spitting out quotes by Nietzsche and Voltaire, but you are only fooling yourselves!
The downturn in the legal profession has affected everyone, including graduates of top law schools. If you are truly hell bent on becoming an attorney or working in the legal profession, then ask yourself: WHY ?????
The high paying jobs don't exist, you can't discharge the debt, and you may end up trying to get your money back like the kid in the video below!
-The Poor Paralegal
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Law school is one hell of a gamble for most students. Even graduates of top 10 schools are not immune to the shrinking legal industry.
ReplyDeleteWhy talk about what is a toilet law school in your worthless opinion while you are an unemployed paraprofessional? If you want to be some elitist at least be one, not some broke poser elitist who wants to bring everyone down to thier whining level of defeat
ReplyDeleteOld mindset who want to be an associate at some defense mill and make a lot of money right of way are obviously going to have a harder time; however, it is normal everyday people without rich parents and live outside of elite academia who should become lawyers in our society. There are many awesome law schools outside of the US News and World Report nonsense you pontificate with your dismissive attitude.