More Law School Blues

Just a couple of quick items on the continuing crisis in legal education.

First, from Bloomberg Law, this quick take on the legal job market, noting an 18-year low in jobs for law grads:

Next, a look from the ABA Journal at these new numbers from the National Association for Law Placement (the "NALP").

Some highlights: 84.7% of 2012 law grads are employed (continuing the declining trend, down for the fifth straight year from 91.9% in 2007), and only 64.4% have jobs requiring bar passage. This is the LOWEST NUMBER EVER RECORDED by the NALP.

On the other hand, BigLaw jobs and the national median salary are up from last year. 

Read the whole NALP press release.

My advice remains: don't go to law school if you have to incur debt to do it.  The crazy market makes it easier to get into law school for those who might otherwise be on the bubble. But this is simply a trap for the unwary: with a slow job market and the high cost of a legal education, students from lower-tier schools and those who graduate outside the top of their class often find that the investment isn't worth it.

More on this in the weeks to come.