The Truth About Law School and Their Employment Numbers

Perhaps it’s an assumption but everyone thinks that lawyers have no trouble when it comes to finding a job. The tight legal market is showing different though. There has been an increase of law students who have graduated but have not found employment. Many law schools are facing pressure to tell the truth about the students who graduate from their school. Are these students finding more jobs? It seems that all law students are graduating with is a large number of jobs. Were they lured in by a juicy job prospect?

Several students are enrolling in law school with one thing on their mind. All they want to do is find a good paying job that helps them get through life. Chloe Gilgan entered law school thinking she would get a good job but instead she found something else. After three years, she still has not found a job. All she can stare at is her large amount of student debt. She thinks that New York Law School may have twisted their employment figures a little. “Nobody can guarantee you’ll have a job for sure,” she says, “but what they can do is give you honest prospects.”

Gilgan and several other students have joined together to sue New York Law School. The charge is that they told their students several lied regarding job prospects. The attorney who is on this case is David Anziska. He is working hard to line up prospects and make sure they have enough people to stand with them in court. Most of the people who are suing paid almost 40 grand a year and got nothing in return. In defense of New York Law School, they say that they gave out the correct information.

Interim Dean Carol Buckler stated:  “We also break down the information based on the type of employer and the salaries that graduates might expect.” Many students are complaining about the high tuition and non-existent job prospects.

And there’s Kyle McEntee, who started LawSchoolTransparency.com says that “A school might advertise a median salary of $160,000” McEntee notes, “and not disclose that only 10 percent of a class actually responded to the salary survey.” On a side note, some law students are not told that the Law School funds some of the jobs that are found. Many blame the American Bar Association that gives these schools the accreditation the law schools need to be successful. This results in law schools being dishonest with potential students.

Some people say that it is up to the student to determine this information. The school can present the data but the student should decipher it. Perhaps, this is why this situation is being taken to court. The bottom line is that law schools should only present accurate information and not sugar coat information.