Law school admissions experience a sharp increase Forum

[tlsadmin3]

At the moment, law school admission officers are experiencing a dramatic rise in applicants. The cause of this increased interest in legal studies remains to be seen. Could it be a result of Ruth Bader Ginsberg's death inspiring a new generation of legal professionals? Or an increase in social justice activism? Maybe it's just a byproduct of people having more time on their hands due to COVID-19 and deciding to apply early.

What do you think is behind this increase in law school applications?

[007sean]

It’s likely a combination of factors. Some may want to sit out the economic upheaval for a couple years in law school and join the labor market post virus. Others probably have had much more time on their hand due to canceled summer jobs and internship and either are sending our feelers or simply have applied earlier. It could be that the process is therefore front loaded. I would be surprised if the trend holds and total applications for the year really increase by 30%.

[007sean]

It’s likely a combination of factors. Some may want to sit out the economic upheaval for a couple years in law school and join the labor market post virus. Others probably have had much more time on their hand due to canceled summer jobs and internship, used it for tests and applications, and either are sending our feelers or simply have applied earlier. It could be that the process is therefore front loaded. I would be surprised if the trend holds and total applications for the year really increase by 30%.

[ALCA1920]

I don't think it's easy to pin down a particular cause to the rise in applicants. I agree with 007sean– it's probably a different number of factors, and the part with COVID and the job market are probably the most likely culprits.

From my experience, I'd argue it's because of job insecurity for liberal arts majors, and the only other thing they can do that'll give them any economic well-being is legal employment. I've been out of school since May and it's really hard to find a job in my geographic area that pays greater than 35k, unless you're a software developer or doctor or something like that. Everything else is a service or administrative job– desk clerk, sales, customer support, food, delivery driving, nursing, and social work. There're open positions for the trades, but they require additional schooling. I might add that a liberal arts degree (political science or economics, for example) can make it hard to transition into another field at the graduate level. There can be no medical school without passing 2 years of pre-med courses with extensive volunteer experience, and professional engineering schools usually require experience in math and engineering before sending an application.

My worldview is still limited to that of a 0L, not a labor economist or statistician. For all I know, increasing numbers of people are fascinated by the study of law and want to represent clients in a legal setting on a regular basis.

[nixy]

I wish people would stop promoting the idea that

the only other thing [liberal arts majors can do that'll give them any economic well-being is legal employment.

I get the argument about overall problems with entry level employment (don’t totally agree, but that’s a different issue), but law isn’t magic ticket to economic well-being. Even if you assume “biglaw = economic well-being,” the vast majority of people who go to law school don’t end up in biglaw. If you’re really talking about applicants with high scores who can get admitted to (and ideally money from) high-ranked schools that feed into biglaw, well, that hardly justifies the overall phenomenon, when lots of liberal arts majors will put off earnings and take out lots of loans for 3 years and not end up in a high-paying job.

(Also, a lot of the sciences are actually also liberal arts degrees - if you mean humanities/soft social sciences, you should say that.)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the covid-wrecked economy is a big factor here, but while lots of people *think* law is the only thing they can go do for “economic well being,” I absolutely don’t agree that it is, and I wish people would stop thinking/talking about law that way.

[ALCA1920]

I wish people would stop promoting the idea that

the only other thing [liberal arts majors can do that'll give them any economic well-being is legal employment.

I get the argument about overall problems with entry level employment (don’t totally agree, but that’s a different issue), but law isn’t magic ticket to economic well-being. Even if you assume “biglaw = economic well-being,” the vast majority of people who go to law school don’t end up in biglaw. If you’re really talking about applicants with high scores who can get admitted to (and ideally money from) high-ranked schools that feed into biglaw, well, that hardly justifies the overall phenomenon, when lots of liberal arts majors will put off earnings and take out lots of loans for 3 years and not end up in a high-paying job.

(Also, a lot of the sciences are actually also liberal arts degrees - if you mean humanities/soft social sciences, you should say that.)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the covid-wrecked economy is a big factor here, but while lots of people *think* law is the only thing they can go do for “economic well being,” I absolutely don’t agree that it is, and I wish people would stop thinking/talking about law that way.

Not having a high-paying job right out of law school is very different from not having a high-paying job period. Biglaw might be the only way to make 6-figures just after law school, but there are other practice areas that can also pay 6-figures. It's not like the legal profession is divided between highly-paid biglaw associates and 50k-year ambulance chasers. The median salary for lawyers overall is high enough that it warrants attending law school for a lot of people (myself included), more than can be made with a BA in [insert soft science here]. Of course the calculus changes if they're taking out a life-changing 6 figures in loans, but if someone gets good scores and goes to State U with a sizable scholarship (full tuition or close to it), and they want to study and practice the law, I don't see why they shouldn't go. They can increase their earning potential and take on work that they consider more meaningful than the work they would have had with just a bachelors degree.

[nixy]

But law is not the only way to do that. There are ton of other grad programs and professions and jobs and careers in the universe. That's what I'm objecting to, the idea that humanities/soft social science majors have "no choice" but to go into law if they want "economic well being." That's just ridiculously untrue.

I agree that for someone who gets a full ride to a decent+ plus school, it's not necessarily a terrible choice (I mean, you'll still take out debt, and getting a non-law job if you decide you hate law/can't get a law job that you like is actually much more complicated once you have a JD than when you don't). But that's completely different from saying that they don't have any other way to succeed.