Profiles in Intellectual Dishonesty - “Associate Professor of Law” Ilya Somin

http://www.nalp.org/salarydistrib

Look, there is a bimodal distribution of pay among recent JDs! The mean, adjusted mean and average figures do not tell us much, as 34% of those who reported their income made between $40K and $65K. And 25% or 4,878.25 graduates reported incomes of $160,000 or more. Also, what about the MANY who are working part-time?!?!

http://www.nalp.org/uploads/Class_of_09_Jobs_and_JDs_Report_Press_Release.pdf

“However, because some large law firm salaries cluster in the $160,000 range while many other salaries cluster in the $40,000–$65,000 range, relatively few salaries were actually near the median or mean, as the Jobs & JDs report details.” [Emphasis mine]

http://nalp.org/uploads/NatlSummaryChartClassof09.pdf

And look, although there were 44,000 JDs pumped out for the Class of 2009, the graph is based on ONLY 19,513 salaries. Why would that be?!?! After all, fully 36,046 respondents reported being employed in some capacity – within 9 months of graduating from law school. Who knows? Perhaps many recent attorneys and JDs were too humble or embarrassed to report their high incomes to NALP, right?!?! (For instance, I was too meek to report that Jessica Alba unbuttoned my shirt with her teeth and threw me on the bed last night.)

http://volokh.com/2010/07/25/the-bimodal-distribution-of-lawyer-pay/

Here is Ilya’s weak-ass analysis of bimodal distribution of lawyer pay:

“The relevant time horizon for lawyers, however, is the entire 30 to 40 year period of their expected career. On that score, it is difficult to make any precise forecasts. Still, the continued growth in the scope and complexity of law suggest that the demand for legal services is likely to rise. The demand for lawyers is inevitably closely tied to the growth of government and law.

Furthermore, the NALP data for the class of 2009 show that the median graduate has a salary of about $72,000; in other words, 50% of first year lawyers can expect to make that much or more. Even if you adjust the figure downward a little to reflect reporting rates skewed in favor of large firms, you still get a level of perhaps $65,000 based on the formula that NALP used to recalculate the mean salary (reducing the initial estimate by about 9%). That’s not bad for an entry level salary in the middle of a deep recession.” [Emphasis mine]

Ilya, what about the tons of attorneys who never have the chance to practice law? Also, if law were such a great profession, why aren’t YOU out there putting your skills to use?!?! Instead, you teach “legal theory.” Don’t forget the number of lawyers who willingly leave the industry before the 5-10 year mark. What about the fact that the law school Class of 2009 had 44,000 members – competing for 28,901 jobs requiring bar passage? Apparently, Ilya is also not familiar with legal outsourcing. AND DON'T FORGET THE IMMEN$E DEBT LOAD TAKEN ON BY THE MAJORITY OF LAW STUDENTS, IN THIS COUNTRY.

http://www.abanet.org/lsd/legaled/value.pdf

"The combination of the rising cost of a legal education and the realities of the legal job market mean that going to law school may not pay off for a large number of law students. Dean David Van Zandt of Northwestern Law School estimates that to make a positive return on the investment of going to law school, given the current costs, the average law student must earn an average annual salary of at least $65,315.12 As the data above show, however, over 40% of law school graduates have starting salaries below this threshold. Thus, many students start out in a position from which it may be difficult to recoup their investment in legal education. Even students who do ultimately prosper over the course of a career face difficulties from high debt loads during the beginning of their career. High debt can limit career choices, prevent employment in the public service sector, or delay home ownership or marriage. In short, going to law school can bring more financial difficulty than many law students expect." [Emphasis mine]

http://www.finaid.org/calculators/scripts/loanpayments.cgi

“A good rule of thumb is that your total education debt should be less than your expected starting salary. If you borrow more than twice your expected starting salary you will find it extremely difficult to repay the debt.” [Emphasis mine]

So how many recent law grads will be able to reasonably afford to pay back their $160K in NON-DISCHARGEABLE student loans on their $45K salaries, Ilya?!?!

http://www.collegiatetimes.com/databases/salaries/george-mason-university-2009?name=somin&dept=law

Apparently, Ilya only makes $130K as an “associate professor of law” at George Mason University’s public law school. However, he has also taught as a “visiting professor” at several law schools. Despite what he says, the little rat is CLEARLY looking to serve his own $elf-intere$t.

In the final analysis, Ilya Somin is engaging in intellectual dishonesty. How likely is it that a “law professor” is stupid enough to believe that fully half of all recent law grads can “EXPECT” to earn $72K? He is DELIBERATELY choosing to ignore reality of the bimodal salary distribution. In fact, he is FULLY AWARE that U.S. law schools are producing far too many JDs.

http://thecareerist.typepad.com/thecareerist/2010/07/young-and-dumb.html

“Who are the real culprits in this disaster? The law schools, because they know how awful the job market is, and they're acting like it's still 2006. If an investment is risky, the SEC requires disclosure language, right? So shouldn't law schools tell students that their $100,000-plus investment might not pay off?”

Profiles in Flatulence: Crooklyn Dean and “President” Joan Wexler

http://www.brooklaw.edu/faculty/directory/facultymember/biography.aspx?id=joan.wexler

From her BLS faculty profile, we can see that Joan has been the dean and president of this independent sewer of law since 1994; she has also been with this stink-hole since 1985. Being at the law school for so many years has apparently helped this lady learn how to game the rankings scheme.

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2010/05/did-16-law-schools.html

From the comments:

“The WSJ had a great article a few years back in which the Brooklyn Law School basically admitted that they totally fabricate the numbers. If the schools and the magazine told the truth, far fewer people would attend and the schools and banks would lose billions of dollars.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2009/05/18/what-happened-with-brooklyn-law-school.html

“We have spoken to officials at Brooklyn Law School. They said that, as they have done in the past, they decided not to report data for their part-time program this year. The placement of the full-time student data into the combined student data fields was an error, they said. Brooklyn Law School also recently posted a statement on how it provided data to U.S. News:

"[W]hen we completed the 2009 questionnaire, we reported the LSAT/GPA information about our full-time students. Consistent with prior practice, we left blank the questions about LSAT/GPA of part-time students. Following these two questions was a question that sought combined LSAT/GPA information for all entering students—full-time and part-time. In prior years, we had left that line blank. This year, however, we mistakenly inserted only the information provided for the previous two questions—the LSAT/GPA information for our full-time students. This error was completely inadvertent. There was no intention to hide the existence of our part-time program, as evidenced by substantial other information we provided about our part-time program elsewhere in the questionnaire." [Emphasis mine]

OF COURSE THIS WAS A COMPLETELY INADVERTENT ERROR, RIGHT?!?! After all, a second tier sewer with the level of integrity and ethics as Brooklyn Law School would have more to lose than gain by fudging the numbers, correct?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704866204575224350917718446.html

“Thomas Reddy, a second-year student at Brooklyn Law School, hasn't landed a summer internship yet after sending resumes to more than 50 law firms. He is taking on about $70,000 of debt each year of the three-year program to earn his degree, but said he may be fortunate to make $80,000 a year in a lawyer job after graduating. "That is less than what I was making before I went to law school," he said.”

Yes, Tommy, and since Salma Hayek is unavailable, I’ll be fortunate if Eva Mendes climbs on top of me and runs her wet tongue across my torso tonight. Reddy will basically graduate with an additional $210K in NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt from this fe$TTering dump, he has no job offers, and he thinks he will be lucky to find a job making $80K upon graduation?!?!

http://www.jdjournal.com/2009/02/11/brooklyn-law-school-freezes-salaries/

Look, the school instituted a salary freeze. But here is the catch: tuition still increased – just not at a 5%-10% clip.

“Over the past five years, annual tuition increases have been approximately 6.2% for entering students and 5% for upperclass students. I anticipate that any increase for the 2009-10 academic year will be substantially lower…”

Now, look at the second comment on this piece. The commenter notes that the tuition increase was STILL 6 percent, and that tuition topped $42K that year. Thank you, Joan Wexler, you big-hearted swine.

http://www.brooklaw.edu/Admissions/financingyoureducation/costofattendance.aspx

Fast forward to this upcoming school year, where full-time Crooklyn law students will be charged $46,610 in tuition and fees. And don’t forget: total COA for the same academic year for a full-time law student who lives independently is estimated to be a sickening $69,860.

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/ny_local/2005/10/02/2005-10-02_pay_day__that_s_rich__real_e.html

Apparently, the pig made $359,133 for fiscal year 2003.

http://gothamist.com/2007/11/13/higher_educatio.php

“Joan Wexler, dean of Brooklyn Law School: $503,896” [Emphasis mine]

It should be noted that this article was published in November 2007. The feature notes that these figures are for the 2005-2006 school year!

TTR UPDATE:

http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2008/237/227/2008-237227990-050fa431-9.pdf

Go to page 18 of Crooklyn's IRS Form 990 to see Joan Wexler's salary and compensation for 2007.

As a dean who devoted 50 hours per week to her position, Joan G. Wexler took home $529,293 in salary; $40,146 in contributions to employee benefit plans & deferred compensation plans; and $50,580 in expense account and other allowances. This brings her TOTAL COMPENSATION for 2007 to $620,019.

And you thought higher education didn’t pay off!! It pays off handsomely for the crooks at the top of the pyramid, doesn’t it?!?!? After all, Joan Wexler made SIX HUNDRED TWENTY THOUSAND AND NINETEEN DOLLARS IN TOTAL COMPENSATION IN 2007!!!!

In the last analysis, putting lipstick on a pig DOES NOT make it attractive - or less flatulent.

Deconstructing Crooklyn, a.k.a. Brooklyn Law School

[Disclaimer: Do not read this entry if you have recently eaten a meal, as this festering toilet will make you sick.]

This TTR profile is LONG overdue. So excuse me while I place a couple of stiff right jabs to the Adam’s apple and mouth, before landing a roundhouse left hook to Brooklyn’s beak.

http://www.brooklaw.edu/Admissions/financingyoureducation/costofattendance.aspx?

Tuition: For the 2010-2011 academic year, a full-time student at Crooklyn will pay $46,610 in tuition and fees!! However, part-time students will only be charged $35,040 for the same school year. What a relief, huh?! If you cannot afford to attend this school full-time, you have the option of attending the part-time program.

Total Estimated Cost of Attendance: Under the worst case scenario, i.e. a full-time student living on his own, the total COA will be $69,860. The sewer of law estimates that, under this situation, books, housing, utilities, living expenses, transportation and loan fees will add another $23,250 to the tab. Yes, you read that correctly. A full-time BLS student who lives independently can look forward to paying SIXTY NINE THOUSAND, EIGHT HUNDRED AND SIXTY DOLLARS for one year of law school.

Even under the “least-worse” scenario, where a part-time law student lives with family, the total COA is estimated to be $44,020. Such a student could easily rack up $165K in debt over the course of 4 years. Would YOU make this “investment”?

http://www.brooklaw.edu/Admissions/statisticsandprofile/admissionstatistics.aspx?

Entering Class Profile: Crooklyn received nearly 6,000 applications, for its 2009 entering class. The truly harrowing part? This entering class is comprised of 496 students, of which 406 are enrolled full-time!! Apparently, New York needs an ADDITIONAL ARMY of new lawyers, right?!?!

http://www.brooklaw.edu/intellectuallife/lawjournals/journaloflawandpolicy/generalinformation.aspx?

Intangibles: Under Intellectual Life, you can learn about The Journal of Law and Policy. If you are lucky enough to write onto this pre$TTigiou$ law journal, surely law firms and government agencies will be CLAMORING to hire you, right?!?! (Yeah, just like Jessica Alba is clamoring to dig her nails into my back.)

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/page+3

Ranking: According to a publication by the name of U.S. News & World Report, Crooklyn is rated as the 67th most outstanding, amazing, fantastic, mesmerizing law school in the United States - in a five-way tie with Kansas, PiTT$burgh, New Mexico, and Vanillanova. Yay!!

http://www.brooklaw.edu/Admissions/statisticsandprofile/employmentstatistics/selectedrecentplacements.aspx?

Employment Placement Figures: The school claims/asserts a job placement rate of 91.3% for its Class of 2009 - within nine months of graduation, of course. Remember, the law schools do not only consider legal employment, when reaching/creating these figures. This being the case, we should ask the following: How many of these JDs are working the register at Radio Shack? What percentage of graduates from the Crooklyn Class of 2009 is stocking the bar with foreign and domestic drafts at Fourth Avenue Pub? And how many licensed attorneys from this graduating class are checking IDs at B Hive Lounge?

“This year, we received salary information from 71% of our graduates in private practice.”

Starting Salary Statistics: Based off of this “stellar” response rate, the school publishes the following median figures - for those in private practice: $160K for those in firms that are larger than 500 attorneys; the same amount for those in law firms of between 250-500 lawyers; $150K for those Crooklyn JDs hired by firms of 101-250 attorneys; $75K for those hired on at firms of 51-100 lawyers; $66,625 for those in firms of 26-50 lawyers; $65K for those who were taken in by law firms of 11-25 attorneys; and $60K for those hired by firms of 2-10 lawyers.

Apparently, it does not make much difference - in terms of salary - if you get hired by a firm of 50 lawyers, or by one with only 2-10 attorneys on staff! And I guess those stories of Crooklyn grads struggling to pull down $37K are mythical tales, too, right?!?!

Conclusion: Crooklyn is a drastically overpriced second tier sewer. It is located in the HEAVILY OVER-SATURATED NYC legal market. Graduates of this second tier sewer will be competing directly against JDs from the following elite law schools in the geographic area: Columbia, NYU, Cornell, Harvard, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania. How the hell is the average law student at this overpriced dump supposed to compete with that?!

If you are not STRONGLY connected, do not attend this law school - under ANY circumstances. Otherwise, you will be committing financial suicide. If your goal/dream is to work in public interest law, surely you can attend CUNY or SUNY and avoid $210K in NON-DISCHARGEABLE student debt.

Cautiously Optimistic Lemmings: “What’s the Worse That Can Happen?”

http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202463454284&Law_School_Applications_on_the_Rise

This article, which originally appeared in The National Law Journal, is noteworthy for a few reasons: (a) prospective law students report being somewhat aware of the changing legal market; (b) “law professors”, law school administrators and NALP Executive Shill James Leipold comment about the structural change in the industry; and yet (c) law school applications are on the rise.

At the end of the article, reporter Karen Sloan provides a profile of four soon-to-be law students. Here is the TTR breakdown of the rationales.

Lemming Number One: The first student profiled is Allisa Klatt, who will be attending Third Tier Drake!! However, Alissa does consider this school to be “vastly underrated”. Apparently, she has not stumbled onto this blog before - or talked to any recent Drake JDs.

“Although Klatt is confident that law school is the right choice for her, the price tag of a J.D. still leaves her a little queasy. Drake offered a scholarship that will cover half her tuition, but Klatt still expects to take out about $90,000 in loans. "The first time I looked at the grand total of what it would cost to get a law degree, I cried," she said. "And then I realized that this is what I want to do. I'll have debt for the rest of my life, and that's that." [Emphasis mine]

Guess what, Alissa? You DO NOT need to go $90K into the hole for a TTT law degree! You will NOT come out of Drake Law School earning $90K per year. In fact, all students should follow the following sound financial advice:

http://www.finaid.org/calculators/scripts/loanpayments.cgi

“A good rule of thumb is that your total education debt should be less than your expected starting salary. If you borrow more than twice your expected starting salary you will find it extremely difficult to repay the debt.” [Emphasis mine]

Lemming Number Two: The next student/victim featured is Liz Payne, who is planning on attending the Univer$iTTTy of BalTTTimore $chool of Law.

“Payne, 25, insists she's not looking at the legal world through rose-colored glasses. She has friends who have been laid off from paralegal and clerk jobs with law firms, and is well aware that the industry is unstable right now. Even so, she would like to land a job at a law firm and perhaps specialize in the legal issues surrounding social media -- an area she manages for a Washington nonprofit.

Payne was influenced by her father's positive law school experience, which he told her helped to prepare him for the corporate world. She's been announcing her intention to be a lawyer since elementary school.”

[Read: “I know the market is unstable, but I’m going to law school, anyway! I can speshulize (sic) in social media law.”] Also, how many years ago was it when your daddy went to law school, Liz? Did he happen to have a business background, prior to entering the law school doors?!

Lemming Number Three: Golf instructor Jeff Holt has heard encouraging news from recent law grads and young lawyers. Therefore, he “knows” that he is making the right decision. He will be attending the 60th most amazing, thrilling, phenomenal law school in the land, i.e. Georgia State University Commode of Law.

"It's time for me to try something new and face a new challenge," he said. "I can't wait to learn a new way to think." [Emphasis mine]

Holt will attend Georgia State University College of Law in Atlanta this fall, with plans to practice business law at a firm. The location is ideal, he said, and the tuition is low compared to other schools he was considering. "I'm not as confident in the things I can't control as I wish I could be, like the job market," he said. "But golf has taught me that, at the end of the day, all you can do is try your best and hope that it works out."

Yeah, and after I post this entry, I hope that Salma Hayek wraps her legs tight around my waist. Oh well, you just can’t wait to learn a new way to think, can you Jeff?! Honestly, what a tool. You do not need to go six-figures in NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt – and give up an easy/enjoyable job – to learn “new ways” to think.

Lemming Number Four: We now reach my personal favorite of the group, Yazmin Wadia. I could slam her decision to attend WillameTTTe Univer$iTTTy Commode of Law in hilarious, biting fashion. However, I will let Yazmin tell her story instead:

"I'm now starting to look and see what my career options are with a law degree. I haven't been putting too much focus on that yet."

Wadia turned down a paying job at The Public Forum Institute, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., that promotes public discourse, in part because she felt that she wasn't yet ready to join the 9-to-5 workday grind. Instead, she plans to attend Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Ore., which lured her with a scholarship and a strong public interest law program. She hopes to parlay a law degree into a job with a large nonprofit in Washington such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Anti-Defamation League or Amnesty International.

While she hasn't done as much research as she knows she should into the job prospects for new law graduates, she understands that she'll face stiff competition to land her dream legal gig. "It definitely does scare me, knowing that you're competing in the job market with Ivy League graduates from Harvard and Yale," she said. "But it doesn't hurt to try. What's the worst that can happen?" [Emphases mine]

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/01/debt-the-silent-killer/

Here is the worse that can happen, Yazmin: you could end up with $150K in additional NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt and NO JOB PROSPECTS. You could then continue to defer your student loan repayment – and watch helplessly as more interest accumulates. If you default, you can count on enormous penalties, fees and surcharges being added onto your overall tab – as collection agencies take over your accounts. Your credit report will then alarm potential employers – much like this Harvard Law School graduate (except your law degree will say Willamette on it, not Harvard). Good luck in your future endeavors, Lemmings.

Public Law $chool $alarie$: Univer$ity of Utah $.J. Quinney College of Law

http://www.utahsright.com/salaries.php?city=all&query=hiram+chodosh

Hiram Chodosh, the dean at the University of Utah’s College of Law makes $388,545 in his role. Yes, you read that correctly. The dean at the 42nd greatest, most fantastic law school in the United States – as ranked by U.S. News &World Report – made THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY-EIGHT THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE DOLLARS last fiscal year. This public law school is located in a city with a reasonable standard of living.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/page+2

According to this listing from USN&WR, there are only 381 students enrolled full-time at the law school.

http://www.obia.utah.edu/content/fastfacts.pdf

In contrast, according to this document, the University of Utah offers over 100 undergraduate programs and 90 graduate programs to over 29,000 students. As of Fall 2009, the total enrollment was 29,284 – with 22,149 undergrads and 7,135 graduate students. This is a major research university, which features the only medical school in the state of Utah.

http://www.utahsright.com/profile.php?id=1017197

Yet, the current president of the University of Utah earned $394,319 for the same year. Being the chief administrator at this large public university allows Michael K. Young to earn a mere $5,774 more than the dean of the college of law, which has only 381 full-time students. I am certainly NOT advocating for this “educator” to earn more income; I am simply pointing out that the dean of the college of law essentially earns the same amount as the university president. On top of this, the university president teaches a course at the law school.

http://www.utahsright.com/profile.php?id=1007747

Associate Dean for Admission and Financial Aid Reyes Aguilar makes $110,558.

http://www.law.utah.edu/faculty/faculty-profile/?id=reyes-aguilar

“He received a B.A. in political science from Texas A&M University and a J.D. from the U of U. He assumed his present duties in 1992, shortly following graduation. Of his job at the law school, Aguilar says he particularly enjoys the variety of constituent groups he works with, the cyclical nature of the process, and university environment.”

Apparently, he has never had to find a real job since entering law school. Oh well, at least Reyes enjoys the academic environment, right? And that is what counts.

“In addition, he has recently been appointed by the American Bar Association to an on-site inspection team for the provisional accreditation review of law schools.”

Remember this fact, if you decide to defend this man’s role in the law school industrial complex. According to NALP, there were 44,000 JDs for the Class of 2009, and only 28,901 jobs requiring bar passage. And Reyes wants to help the ABA add more law schools?!?! Reyes, make sure that the sites you visit have the following items: couches; several bookshelves; running water; a toilet; a few computers; some printers; and a fax machine. (After all, we don’t want the ABA to lower its “standards” for accreditation.)

http://thirdtierreality.blogspot.com/2009/11/open-letter-to-university-of-utah-law.html

Check out my letter to these two men, questioning the suspiciously high employment and starting salary figures on their law school fair recruiting materials.

http://thirdtierreality.blogspot.com/2009/11/response-from-sj-quinney-college-of-law.html

Here is their response to my email, where they informed me that this was an “inadvertent error” on their part. OF COURSE IT WAS!! What else could explain such a great disparity between the published numbers and the real figures?!?! For $ome rea$on, the “errors” always favor the institution.

http://www.law.utah.edu/faculty/

Here is the school’s list of faculty. Now, head over to http://www.utahsright.com/salaries and enter University of Utah with the names of the staff members below – so we can see how well many of the “professors” at the public S.J. Quinney College of Law are doing. Here is a partial listing of “law professors” with their ridiculous, respective salaries:

Robert Adler - $188,924; Paul Cassell - $174,441; Lincoln Davies - $140,057; Robert Flores - $123,189; Leslie Francis - $161,588; Erika George - $142,214; Amos Guiora - $196,872; James Holbrook - $232,297; Christian Johnson - $151,512; Robert Keiter - $263,025; Laura Kessler – 143,418; Terry Kogan - $174,834; Thomas Lund - $170,505; “presidential professor” Chibli Mallat - $295,482; John Martinez - $166,000; Scott Matheson, Jr. – $181,637; Wayne McCormack - $198,468; Nancy McLaughlin - $160,433; Daniel Medwed - $135,952; Christopher Peterson - $158,028; from the law library, Rita Reusch - $158,000; Alexander Skibine - $163,919; Linda Smith - $158,960; Debora Threedy - $181,019; Amy Wildermouth - $145,318; “assistant professor” William McDonnell - $141,096; Harris Sondak - $199,150.

WHO SAYS HIGHER EDUCATION DOESN’T PAY OFF?! It pays off handsomely for the “law professors”. Remember, the law schools get paid up front with federally-backed student loans. They DO NOT care what happens to the average graduate. Paying off those NON-DISCHARGEABLE loans for the next 30 years is your concern – NOT theirs.

Do any of the law school industry apologist cockroaches want to argue that “law professors” – especially those at public schools – are worth these hefty salaries? Is there a reason why the taxpayers should be paying people who teach legal theory at state schools these amounts?!

Sickening, Sweltering Stink-Hole: Stetson University College of Law

Today, we travel to lovely Gulfport, Florida to visit $TTTeTTT$on Univer$iTTTy Commode of Law. Well, at least it is in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metro area.

http://www.law.stetson.edu/tmpl/admissions/internal-1.aspx?id=422

Tuition: For the 2010-2011 Academic Year, a full-time student at this diploma mill will pay $35,020 in tuition and fees! What’s that you say? You cannot afford to spend $35K a year for a top-notch “legal education”?! Well, you do have the option of attending this wondrous institution of higher learning as a part-time law student – in which case, you will only spend $23,390 in tuition and fees for the same school year.

http://www.law.stetson.edu/tmpl/admissions/internal-1.aspx?id=420

Total Cost of Attendance: Thought this school was affordable, after all?! Well, throw in room, board, health insurance, transportation, personal/miscellaneous, and loan fees, and you add another $22,466 to the tab. This would bring the total COA – for a single, solitary year of full-time “legal education” at Stetson to $57,486. How does that sound to you?!?!

But that’s not all!! Tell the folks at home how much living expenses for summer will add up to, Johnny! (The school was nice enough to include summer 2010 living expenses, on this same document.) Yes, that’s right – living expenses will add up to another $7,038 for the 2010 summer. That would bring the TOTAL, ACTUAL COA for the 2010-2011 year to a mind-boggling, back-breaking, soul-crushing $64,524.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/page+5

Ranking: Okay, so the school is not affordable. Surely, the school’s reputation will ensure that you have a decent chance at employment upon graduation, correct?!?! Well, U.S. News & World Report lists Stetson University Commode of Law in the pedestrian third tier of American law schools. Yes, a great feat for which I am sure the law school is VERY proud. At least, it is not in the fourth tier, like 7 of the other Florida law schools, right?! This MUST be great consolation to the unemployed recent $TTTeTTT$on grad.

http://www.law.stetson.edu/tmpl/about/internal-1.aspx?id=356

Employment Placement: According to this $elf-$erving a$$ertion, 96 percent of the commode’s Class of 2008 was employed within 9 months of graduation. Of course, the toilet does not provide any breakdown of the numbers, to back up their claim.

“For the 2008 graduating class, 96 percent of those seeking work reported that they found employment within nine months of graduation.”

http://www.law.stetson.edu/tmpl/admissions/internal-1.aspx?id=252&linkidentifier=id&itemid=252

Starting Salary Statistics: Click on the “Download Viewbook (PDF)” link – and go to page 26. The school has the unmitigated gall to assert that – for the Class of 2008 – the average starting salary was $87,000, for those in the private sector. (For $ome rea$on, the school does not provide the details or methodology used to reach this figure.) The commode also lists the average starting salary for those JDs – from the same graduating class – working in the public sector, as $45,000. Many JDs from first tier schools cannot land public sector jobs, at this point. Perhaps, they should have attended Stetson instead.

Look on the same page of this PDF. The school also offers its (desperate) students access to…you guessed it…A FAX MACHINE!!!!

“Stetson also offers students a 24-hour resource center stocked with computers, printers, copiers, fax machine and reference library.”

http://www.law.stetson.edu/tmpl/about/offices/dean/internal-1-sub.aspx?id=32

Message from the Dean and Vice President: Dean of the law school, Jim Belushi, a.k.a. Darby Dickerson, offers some meaningless platitudes that will NOT help any of his students find employment.

To wit:

“Our faculty members are passionate about teaching. They have open-door policies; they coach advocacy teams and advise student organizations. They are established scholars who bring their expertise to the classroom. They are true mentors and role models for our students.

Stetson offers a welcoming, supportive and inclusive environment in which students can develop the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the 21st Century. At Stetson, we put people first. We hope you will consider joining our community.”

Who gives a damn? Will this drivel help any of your students find a job, Jim? (By the way, your brother John was a much better actor and comedian.)

http://www.law.stetson.edu/tmpl/academics/internal-1.aspx?id=576

Wow! As a student at $TTTeTTT$on, you will have an opportunity to write onto the prestigious Journal of International Aging, Law & Policy. With this experience under your belt, “elder law” employers everywhere will be tripping over themselves to hire someone with your fantastic writing skills and brilliant legal analysis.

Conclusion: The Stetson University Commode of Law is an embarrassingly overpriced piece of trash that will strap MOST of its students and graduates with monstrous NON-DISCHARGEABLE student loan debt. Many of these JDs will NOT find gainful employment as attorneys in this lifetime. However, they WILL have the following: (a) shattered dreams; (b) a lifetime of crushing debt; (c) disillusionment; (d) bitterness; (e) shame; (f) misery; and (g) a nice little law degree to hang on their bathroom wall.

Hey, what more could you ask for – at the mere cost of $64,524 per year, right?!?! What other “professional schools” submerge their graduates into the murky waters of MASSIVE student loan debt with no life raft, i.e. meager job prospects?! A student could end up with $195K in student debt by attending this sweltering stink-hole.

For-Profit Piece of Trash: Florida Coastal School of Law

Today, we are in Jacksonville exploring the private, independent dump heap known as Florida Coastal School of Law.

http://www.fcsl.edu/tuition

Tuition: To attend this fantastic, amazing, wondrous law school, a full-time student will pay $34,782 in tuition and fees for the 2010-2011 school year! Part-time students at FCSL will only pay $28,156 in tuition and fees for the same academic year. And who can’t scrape together $28K to attend this school on a part-time basis?!

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/page+7

Ranking: The cost is a bit high, but surely attending such an elite school will open up great opportunities for a law student, right?!?! Well, apparently U.S. News & World Report doesn’t think too highly of this institution. After all, they have this school listed in the fourth tier cesspool.

http://www.fcsl.edu/aboutus

Supposed Employment Statistics: Look – FCSL reports that 96.6% of its Class of 2007 was employed within nine months of graduation. This is a FULL 4.7 PERCENTAGE POINTS HIGHER than the “recent historical high” of 91.9 percent employment rate for the law school Class of 2007, as reported by NALP.

http://nalp.org/uploads/09SelectedFindingsPressRelease.pdf

So, how does a fourth tier piece of trash such as Florida Coastal Sewer of Law report a 96.6% employment rate when the OVERALL employment rate for Class of 2007 JDs was 91.9 percent?!?! How does that happen? Remember, the overall rate includes 150+ schools that are ranked higher than Fourth Tier Florida Coastal.

And before the shills point this out, the bar passage rate was 83% for July 2009 test takers who were graduates of Florida Coastal. However, as LEGIONS of recent lawyers can attest, bar passage DOES NOT equal legal employment.

https://www.fcsl.edu/sites/fcsl.edu/files/Web%20ERSS%20Charts.pdf

Now let’s take a look at the purported employment stats for the Class of 2009. The trash heap reports that the placement rate was 93.2 percent for this graduating class, i.e. “Coastal Law’s Class of 2009 graduates had an employment rate of 93.2% within 9 months of their graduation.” (Yeah, sure they did – and Jessica Alba came over and just dug her nails a quarter of an inch into my back.)

http://nalp.org/uploads/08SelectedFindings.pdf

However, the overall employment rate for the law school Class of 2009 – again according to NALP – was only 88.3%. So, this fourth tier pile of garbage reports a placement rate that is 4.9 PERCENTAGE POINTS HIGHER than the overall rate – which includes about 150 or so schools that are ranked/rated higher than it.

http://www.infilaw.com/schools.htm

As you can see, Florida Coastal Sewer of Law is owned by the for-profit Infilaw Corp. Let’s see who is on their “policy board”, shall we?

http://www.infilaw.com/policyboard.htm

Dennis Archer is a past president of that racketeer influenced and corrupt organization known as the American Bar Association; Rudy Hasl, dean of the Thomas Jefferson Sewer of Law – and former chair of the ABA section which oversees the law school accreditation process; Martha Walters Barnett “served” as former president of the ABA, a member of the ABA Board of Governors and former chair of the ABA House of Degenerates; and Robert K. Walsh, former chair of the following ABA sections: legal education and admissions to the bar, accreditation committee and the standards review committee.

At least, we see how this for-profit piece of dung received its accreditation. Then again, the ABA approves any building with running water, a few computers, a printer, some bookshelves and a couple of couches as a law school.

Conclusion: Florida Coastal Sewer of Law is engaging in deception. Most of the students will not have a realistic chance at practicing law in any meaningful sense. The school is a true piece of garbage that feeds off of the desperation of unemployed/marginally-employed college graduates – and the federally-backed student loan system – in order to make serious money.

The school and the “professors” DO NOT GIVE A DAMN what happens to their graduates upon graduation. They get paid up front, and so do their shareholders. You, the student and graduate, are left paying back the principle plus interest for the next 30 years.

One could easily end up $150K in the hole by attending this in$TTTTiTTTTuTTTTion of higher learning – with accompanying dismal job prospects. Yes, that sounds like quite a wise investment, doesn’t it?!?!