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In a couple of months we will start seeing statistics about job placement for the law school Class of 2012 nine months after graduation. Anyone care to make a prediction about whether they will be better, worse, or the same as the Class of 2011 stats?

I think there will be a modest but not trivial improvement for '12 over '11. I'm basing this (admittedly tenuously) on:

- NALP's report that on-campus recruitment in fall 2010 (which is the relevant year for Class of '12) saw a "modest rebound": http://www.nalp.org/uploads/Perspectives_Fall_2010.pdf

- Articles like this one indicating that summer programs in 2011 (again, the relevant year for Class of '12) were larger than the previous year: http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.co ... ut_slowly/

- Anecdotal stuff from people I know in the Class of '12 and from the hiring done by the biglaw firm where I used to paralegal.

In fact, I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict that 13 of the T14 schools will send the majority of their class of '12 to 100+lawyer firms or fed clerkships. (It was 10 of 14 for '11.) And maybe even 14 of 14, but that would be a longshot for GULC.

If I'm right, then law schools will sell the heck out of the improved stats to prospective students, along with the benefits of PAYE, in order to keep the tuition scam going. Campos and similar bloggers will have a challenge on their hands.

If we're going to just use anecdotal evidence, then I'll put the over-under at 40%.

ajax adonis wrote:If we're going to just use anecdotal evidence, then I'll put the over-under at 40%.

Sorry ... 40% of what will get what?

Or are you poking fun and it's whooshing over my head?

In either event, thanks for bumping the thread, lol.

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In before the derp

ajax adonis wrote:The percentage of students of class of '12 that will be in 100+lawyer firms or fed clerkships.

If you mean at Georgetown, I think you're probably close to right on the money. I'd take 42%.

If you mean the T14 as a group, I think they were at over 50% collectively, so you're projecting a big decrease. Interesting.

Really I was going for a more general question: whether class of '12 will do better, worse or the same for jerbs than class of '11. Sorry that I clouded the issue.

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I would be very surprised of the class of 2012 overall didn’t do worse than class of 2011. The incoming class of 2012 had about 4.5% more incoming students than class of 2011. I’m not sure about T14 specifically because I don’t know how much they increased their class size.

^ That's a great point. Forgot about that angle.

Yes.