Law school recruitment fair offers advice for potential students
By Valen Emmert

Making decisions about higher education can sometimes be a difficult task. UT’s College of Law held a law school recruitment fair to make the decision easier. The overall goal of the day was to get prospective law students from UT and area schools to see the opportunities available to them.

For the event, which was attended by approximately 60 to 80 people, admissions officers from Georgia State, South Carolina, Mercer and Vanderbilt law schools traveled to be a part of a panel.

The panel discussed preparing for law school as an undergraduate, the law school admission process and legal employment with the current economic state. The panelists also held a question and answer session, followed by a meet and greet time where students could talk with them about their law school options.

During the Q&A, the panel discussed a wide range of topics. Students were interested in everything from letters of recommendation to the LSAT exam to differences between private and public law schools. Looking ahead, the students also asked about forming stand-out applications and effective personal statements.

Law School Admissions Counselor Hosts Informational Seminar
by Jordan Dailey

Rachel Wishum, admissions director of Jones School of Law at Faulkner University in Montgomery, spoke to Auburn students interested in law school Thursday, Sept. 3.

She spoke about important areas for all potential law students– LSAT scores and GPA.

“The LSAT tells us how you think and process what you read,” Wishum said. “Your GPA tells us what your work ethic is like.”

Though the LSAT measures students’ performance at one point in time, GPA spans a longer period.

“We look at trends,” Wishum said. “If your GPA started out badly, but has increased over time, it tells us you got serious and decided to work hard.”

Sara Duffy, a second-year student, or 2L, at Jones School of Law, graduated from Auburn in May 2008 in public relations.

“Law school is different than undergrad in that you’re learning how to be a good lawyer, not just memorizing a bunch of stuff for a test,” Duffy said.

Potential law students may wonder when is the best time to take the LSAT.

Wishum and Duffy recommend the June before a student’s senior undergraduate year.

“It’s not like the ACT where you take it over and over,” Wishum said. “This test is extremely difficult. You don’t want to take it more than once if you don’t have to.”

Study: More students turn to law school in failing economy
Registration for LSATs has increased more than 20 percent during past year
By Alex Zielinski

An April study of prospective law students revealed a leading motive for attending law school: the failing economy.

The study, administrated by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, reported that 40 percent of the 1,040 students who took the February 2009 Law School Admission Test were motivated by today’s economic crisis to apply to law school. In addition, the registration for the Kaplan-administered LSATs has increased by more that 20 percent during the past year.

Since 2006, the University’s School of Law has seen the number of applicants rise by 113, with 2008’s enrollment around 531 students. The law school’s LL.M, or Master of Laws, class of 2010 will be the largest since the program’s initiation two years ago. The law school building itself can hold no more than its current students, so increased applications would mean more discretion when reviewing new applicants.

The survey highlighted many economic reasons why students would decide to go to law school now. Sixty-seven percent of survey participants said the high earning power of a law degree substantially affected their decision to pursue an education in the field.

Are Law-School Applicants Like ‘Gatsby’s Revelers?’
By Nathan Koppel

…

Slater laments the fact that, even in the throes of one of the worst industry downturns in history, matriculation rates continue to rise unchecked at law schools, with close to 50,000 enrollees at the 200 ABA-approved law schools.

Worse, to lure students, some law schools offer a deceptive view of the likelihood that their graduated will land top-paying jobs. Slater points a finger at employment statistics posted on the Web sites of three low-ranked law schools in New York City. All three advertise that 45 to 60 percent of their 2008 graduates who reported salary information are making a median salary of $150,000 to $160,000, a statistic that Slater finds somewhat dubious.

Ultimately, however, Slater serves up the sternest language for students themselves:

“But will next year’s round of applicants heed the signals?” he writes, with that characteristic Slater panache. And then this, which deserves its own set-off block-quote:

Or, like Gatsby’s revelers, will they simply push on at an ever greater clip, boats against the current, toward that green light in the ivory tower and the promising future that, quite literally, recedes before them? After all, there will always be the possibility, however faint, of Big Law money and white-shoe prestige — those powerful tonics for every new batch of wandering liberal arts graduates.

It seems that some think that it’s not that there aren’t enough legal jobs, but rather, there are just too many lawyers.  Read more at The New York Times…

Another View: Lock the Law School Doors
by Dan Slater

This summer, in the staid world of legal education, where curriculum is uniform and scholars are trained in the art of like-mindedness, one dean hatched a contrary plan.

In a memo to incoming students, Patricia D. White, the dean of University of Miami School of Law, surmised: “Perhaps many of you are looking to law school as a safe harbor in which you can wait out the current economic storm.” She then urged them to “think hard” about their plans and offered incentives for those willing to defer for one year.

“The nature of the legal profession is in great flux,” Dean White observed. “It is very difficult to predict what the employment landscape for young lawyers will be in May 2012 and thereafter.”

…

The American Bar Association, which continues to approve law schools with impunity and with no end in sight, bears complicity in creating this mess. Yet a spokeswoman, citing antitrust concerns, says the A.B.A. takes no position on the optimal number of lawyers or law schools. So then how about the schools? Can they save future generations of students from themselves?

If it means shrinking classes, don’t count on it. Limiting education is un-American, not to mention anticapitalist, even if many law schools appear to profit from what may charitably be called an inefficient distribution of market information.

Take, for instance, the employment statistics posted on the Web sites of three low-ranked law schools in New York City, the country’s biggest market for legal employment. All three advertise that 45 to 60 percent of their 2008 graduates who reported salary information are making a median salary of $150,000 to $160,000.

Now, of course there must be some way of slicing and dicing the numbers to yield that magic result. But what happens, in practice, is that prospective degree-purchasers enroll in these $43,000-a-year programs believing their chances of landing that Big Law job are about one in two. Tempting odds.

Other schools market their degrees without six-figure promises. “If you counted on starting at $160,000 per year, then you’re in for a huge disappointment,” said Bryant Garth, the dean at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, where enrollment is up 11 percent. He disagrees with Miami’s approach and believes that trying to shrink class size amounts to panicking. “I insist law is still a good career,” he said. “Students may just have to make it in a more entrepreneurial fashion.”

Study: More students turn to law school in failing economy
Registration for LSATs has increased more than 20 percent during past year
By Alex Zielinski

An April study of prospective law students revealed a leading motive for attending law school: the failing economy.

The study, administrated by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, reported that 40 percent of the 1,040 students who took the February 2009 Law School Admission Test were motivated by today’s economic crisis to apply to law school. In addition, the registration for the Kaplan-administered LSATs has increased by more that 20 percent during the past year.

Since 2006, the University’s School of Law has seen the number of applicants rise by 113, with 2008’s enrollment around 531 students. The law school’s LL.M, or Master of Laws, class of 2010 will be the largest since the program’s initiation two years ago. The law school building itself can hold no more than its current students, so increased applications would mean more discretion when reviewing new applicants.

The survey highlighted many economic reasons why students would decide to go to law school now. Sixty-seven percent of survey participants said the high earning power of a law degree substantially affected their decision to pursue an education in the field.

The Chicago Tribune dutifully reports…

Ex-dean calls herself ‘victim’ of admissions scandal
After testimony on University of Illinois abuses, Heidi Hurd left message praising chancellor she had criticized
By Stacy St. Clair

University of Illinois law school dean has made a final effort to distance herself from an admissions scandal, writing a lengthy letter to the state panel charged with investigating the practices.

Heidi Hurd — who testified before the Illinois Admission Review Commission nearly a month ago — sent a 15-page letter late last week in which she describes herself as a “victim” of the school’s clout lists, not a “perpetrator,” and details her efforts to push back against them.

She also supports her earlier assertions that Chancellor Richard Herman and public officials abused their power when they forced her to admit subpar students.

Commissioners will weigh the letter against a voice mail message Hurd left on Herman’s home phone shortly after she testified. University attorneys turned over the message to the commission, officials said.

According to a transcript, Hurd refers to Herman as a “knight in shining armor” and says she remains his “most ardent admirer.”

“I just know someday … when we are kicking around in heaven, we will be able to drink and laugh about this the whole time,” she says. “But to the extent that I have played a role in a scenario that should not have unfolded for you, I am beyond, beyond belief sorry.”

If hindsight is 20/20, this show will provide Fall 2010 admission cycle applicants with help making decisions in the coming months.

Law school applications rise despite costs, market
by Elizabeth Crisp

For Lindsey Tew Simmons, the decision to start law school at Mississippi College three years ago was an easy one – she just couldn’t predict the effect the economy could have on her job prospects as she finished.

Like many who graduated law school in May, Simmons is taking the bar exam this week. In addition to the hours she devoted to studying for the rigorous test, Simmons said she has looked “practically every single day” for several months for job leads.

“It’s been really frustrating,” she said. “You go into law school expecting to come out with this really good, high-paying job and they’re just not there.”

The complaint is common, but mounting student costs, shrinking job prospects and receding salaries in many legal professions are barely causing a dent in the steady stream of students deciding to enroll in law school this year.

Nationally, law school applications are up 4.3 percent over last year, according to the American Bar Association. At Mississippi College’s School of Law, applications have gone up 14 percent.

The University of Mississippi’s School of Law saw a slight decrease, said director of admissions Barbara Vinson.

…

As the second quarter of 2009 came to a close, the Center for Career Strategy & Advancement at Northwestern University’s School of Law reported the country as a whole is “amidst a decline in law firm revenue and the demand for legal services.”

In addition to being harder to find, the jobs that are out there often aren’t paying the high salaries students had counted on to whittle down their debts.

No job? More law school
by Michelle Boryca

Law-school admissions offices are facing a bittersweet paradox.

While the economy may be down, unemployed college graduates’ interest in postgraduate education is taking off.

“Generally, we do well when people are miserable,” said Collins Byrd, the assistant dean in charge of admissions at the UI College of Law.

When there is a decline in the economy, students tend to go to law school immediately after receiving their undergraduate degree, he said.

Furthermore, experts have noted financial rewards, such as lawyers’ salaries, are a key motivator to go back to school, trumping ideals such as helping people or delivering justice.

Read more at The News-Gazette…

Ex-UI law dean says she ‘pushed back’ against influence
By Julie Wurth

A former law dean at the University of Illinois said she inherited a “well-greased, well-oiled” system for admitting students with political clout when she became dean in 2002, and did her best to “push back.”

But members of a state panel who questioned Heidi Hurd on Wednesday appeared skeptical, asking why she didn’t do more to change the system for admitting “special interest” applicants pushed by trustees on behalf of powerful politicians, including ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

“The former governor of this state, the chair of your board of trustees, the chancellor of your university forced you to admit a student into the law school that you otherwise would not have accepted. You paint a picture of an abuse of power. Is that correct?” asked commissioner Zaldwaynaka Scott.

“I certainly thought so,” Hurd acknowledged.
…

Earlier testimony from Paul Pless, assistant law dean for admissions, indicated that, over four years, the university forced the College of Law to admit 24 politically connected students who wouldn’t have been accepted otherwise. During that time, about 900 students were admitted overall.

Hurd opened her testimony Wednesday with a prepared statement saying that during her tenure, the College of Law “never took a student who was not qualified to study law or to enter the profession.”
…

Hurd said when she arrived at the law school, decisions on “special interest” admissions at various UI colleges were made by three administrators at the campus level – then-Provost Richard Herman, Associate Provost Steve Schomberg and Richard Schoell, executive director of the Office of Governmental Relations.

The following year, according to her testimony, Hurd got more involved, to protect the law school’s efforts to boost its academic profile.

“I elbowed my way into the process,” she said. Based on the 2002 admissions, she said, “It was clear I was going to have to push back at every turn.”

During her first year, she said, half the students on the clout-influenced law school list were admitted; in her last year as dean, 2006-07, none were, she said.

Does the Law School “Name” Matter?
by David Feldman

A college student I know is contemplating law school. I was asked, “Is it better to go to the best possible school I can get into, or go to a lesser school and really stand out? What’s the best way to get a job from that?” With the new US News law school rankings out recently (happy that my alma mater, University of Pennsylvania, was #8), it seemed a good time to ponder that age-old question.

Well, if you’re seeking a Supreme Court clerkship, it sure does matter. According to the ABA Journal, Supreme Antonin Scalia told law students that he only picks clerks from the schools that “basically are the hardest to get into.” Virtually all of his clerks have come from Yale and Harvard.

…

So these days school does not really matter in terms of getting your first job. As long as you can stand out as one of the top students of a lower-ranked school, you will do fine. But we should also keep in mind what happens after that first job. Well, if you get to a top law firm, that pedigree will stay with you as you get your next sets of jobs.

As for my own opinion, I think he is essentially right.

That being said, you’ll have more flexibility in your life voyage if you have more choices available to you, rather than have fewer choices available to you.  And the better quality school you attend, the more choices you will have in terms of employment opportunities.

Many top law firms largely recruit from the top law schools, predictably.  This is a symptom of top school ranking, prestige, and reputation, but also a symptom of the alumni network at work.  Graduates of top law schools tend to find work in top law firms, and when it comes time to hire new young lawyers, they naturally have a bias for their alma maters.  There’s nothing terribly controversial about this, and indeed it’s not unexpected or an unusual phenomenon.

Top firms often develop special recruiting relationships with lower-ranked schools, but strong regional reputations.  Again, don’t underestimate the value and strength of the alumni network.

In these rough economic times, the fact is that top students at non-elite law schools are having a difficult time landing their first job.  Middle ranked law students at a variety of law schools everywhere are having a tough time, too.  And graduates of poorly ranked schools, regardless of their own class ranking, have a tough road ahead.

So the best answer to the question posed is to attend the best, highest ranked law school that accepts you.  If that school just isn’t very impressive, it may be worth your while to sit this wound out, work on your LSAT skills, take the test again and apply again next season.  The difference in your short, medium, and long term career path, as well as income, could be staggering.

Rod Blagojevich urged SIU to let 2 into law school
Neither 2005 applicant was admitted, university says

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich sent two letters of recommendation on behalf of applicants to Southern Illinois University’s law school, the university said Friday after a search of its admissions records in response to a federal subpoena.

The university, based in Carbondale, said it discovered the 2005 letters but found that neither applicant was admitted to the law school.

A review of applications from 2002 to 2008 to its other schools found no other examples of Blagojevich trying to use political clout to influence the university’s admissions process, the university announced.

SIU was one among three state universities — including Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois — that were subpoenaed by federal prosecutors seeking evidence that Blagojevich and his power brokers gave applicants an unfair edge.

Frankly, I’m not surprised that this type of stuff happens. I’m not alarmed that it happens, either, since that would necessitate a pretense that these types of antics are particularly uncommon. Most alarming to me is that the people involved were foolish enough to leave a trail of emails that make the whole plan clear and unambiguous.

I expect a higher quality of shenanigans from those trusted with educated the next generation of legal eagles.

Read the whole story at The Chicago Tribune.

U. of I. jobs-for-entry scheme
E-mails reveal law school put a price on admission of unqualified candidate

What does it cost to get an unqualified student into the University of Illinois law school?

Five jobs for graduating law students, suggest internal e-mails released Thursday.

The documents show for the first time efforts to seek favors — in this case, jobs — for admissions, the most troubling evidence yet of how Illinois’ entrenched system of patronage crept into the state’s most prestigious public university.

They also detail the law school’s system for handling “Special Admits,” students backed by the politically connected, expanding the scope of a scandal prompted by a Chicago Tribune investigation.

In one e-mail exchange, University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman forced the law school to admit an unqualified applicant backed by then- Gov. Rod Blagojevich while seeking a promise from the governor’s go-between that five law school graduates would get jobs. The applicant, a relative of deep-pocketed Blagojevich campaign donor Kerry Peck, appears to have been pushed by Trustee Lawrence Eppley, who often carried the governor’s admissions requests.

When Law School Dean Heidi Hurd balked on accepting the applicant in April 2006, Herman replied that the request came “Straight from the G. My apologies. Larry has promised to work on jobs (5). What counts?”

Hurd replied: “Only very high-paying jobs in law firms that are absolutely indifferent to whether the five have passed their law school classes or the Bar.”

Hurd’s e-mail suggests that students getting the jobs are to be those in the “bottom of the class.” Law school rankings depend in part on the job placement rate of graduates.