T1 offering a Master's Degree in Law??? Forum

[Sam Seaborn]

What would people think of a law school providing a 1-2 year degree in legal studies? It's not a JD, it won't let you sit for the bar, it would just be a way to get a foundation in the law.

I ask because I know of a T1 that will be implementing a program similar to this (I'm being paranoid and not outing until I get confirmation that it's ok to do so) in the next couple years and I did not immediately see the value of this kind of degree. Would it be marketable to business types who don't need a JD but would benefit from some legal studies? Why would anyone want to pursue this course of action? What kinds of professional possibilities would this open up?

Discuss.

[duckmoney]

Sounds great if you want to be a professional legal assistant or paralegal or maybe to complement a business degree.

If you want to be a lawyer, sounds useless. Get your JD and become a real lawyer.

[HWS08]

Sounds great if you want to be a professional legal assistant or paralegal or maybe to complement a business degree.

If you want to be a lawyer, sounds useless. Get your JD and become a real lawyer.

Agree.

[Mickey Quicknumbers]

No. this is going to be entirely worthless. If you just want to be a legal assistant or paralegal then you'll get all the training you need on the job, you don't need to take 1-2 years and learn about proximate cause or the rule against perpetuities.

entirely. worthless.

[Sam Seaborn]

entirely. worthless.

You don't think there is any value in knowing the law without necessarily wanting to practice? What if it offered specialties, like a focus on securities law for banker/investor types, or corporate law for business owner?

[danquayle]

entirely. worthless.

You don't think there is any value in knowing the law without necessarily wanting to practice? What if it offered specialties, like a focus on securities law for banker/investor types, or corporate law for business owner?

I've heard rumblings about this as well. I personally think its just another throwaway degree law schools can make money on. There's not immediate value in just "knowing" the law. They teach most of the relevant law a business owner will need in b-school.

[kk19131]

They teach most of the relevant law a business owner will need in b-school.

[masochist]

My psych doctoral program used to have an LLM option for people who wanted to do forensic psychology. I guess it was useful for those people (all four of them).

[Sam Seaborn]

So no scenario where this type of program would be successful? (Successful adding value to a student's skill set and making them more desirable for employment, not successful in making the university money).

[Moxie]

No. this is going to be entirely worthless. If you just want to be a legal assistant or paralegal then you'll get all the training you need on the job, you don't need to take 1-2 years and learn about proximate cause or the rule against perpetuities.

entirely. worthless.

Pretty much, since:

They teach the relevant law a business owner will need in b-school.

This whole idea of a Master's in law sounds like a cash cow for law schools, with little or no benefit for students.

[Mickey Quicknumbers]

So no scenario where this type of program would be successful? (Successful adding value to a student's skill set and making them more desirable for employment, not successful in making the university money).

Why try to frame it universally? If "there is < 1% chance of this ever being useful" not good enough to deter you from wanting to waste at least a year of your life + tuition?

also, see requoted danquayle comment

[Sam Seaborn]

Ya so it's not something I'm considering, just something I wanted to throw out on TLS and see what other people's opinions were. And I wasn't really trying to frame it universally, just was wondering if there may be specific areas of law that a program like this would be beneficial for.

[danquayle]

Ya so it's not something I'm considering, just something I wanted to throw out on TLS and see what other people's opinions were. And I wasn't really trying to frame it universally, just was wondering if there may be specific areas of law that a program like this would be beneficial for.

I'm trying to imagine scenarios wherein it'd be useful. I keep thinking maybe someone who wanted to get into politics or some kind of governmental service. But again, why wouldn't you just get your MPA? There's not even a clear niche for this degree. This is just trying to capitalize on the a "JD is universally useful" myth.

Like THIS guy http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.net/ma ... leID=58951

“I’m not talking about making more lawyers,” he said. ”I’m talking about more people obtaining a law school education. Let’s say 100 percent of the applications are considered by a law school and only 10 percent are accepted. What about the next 10 percent? Wouldn’t they also be some very well-qualified, well-intentioned people who could obtain this education and make a big difference in their personal lives, their professions and in their communities?

“The answer is: Absolutely.”

I dunno, maybe if you make it substantially cheaper than a JD and don't sell to people the notion that they'll be high flying attorneys. Should Indiana Tech get a prestigious law school of its own, I doubt they'll be telling people: "Yeah, come here and blow $100k so you can do go in your community as a non-lawyer."