Open Letter to the JD Class of 2013

So, you have sat through your first lecture on Palsgraf and International Shoe. Congratulations. Hopefully, you enjoy reading the Model Penal Code, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, boring casebooks, and other such dreck. Surely, you were told during orientation about how “special” you are – and how you and your classmates will go on to do great things to help people. You were doubtlessly regaled with “war stories” and told that “starting from this day, you need to think of yourselves as lawyers.” Unfortunately, MANY of you will graduate with a law degree, pass the bar exam AND NEVER PRACTICE LAW!!

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

You see, the JD Class of 2009 had 44,000 graduates – competing for 28,901 jobs requiring a law degree. (Hint: not all of these jobs are attorney positions.)

http://www.abanet.org/legaled/statistics/charts/stats%20-%207.pdf

Now, we will look at the number of law grads from 1980-1981 to 2008-2009 – by adding the 44,000 to the count. In these 29 years, a cumulative total of 1,127,231 law degrees were awarded by ABA-accredited law schools. Yes, ONE MILLION, ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN THOUSAND, TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE law degrees have been issued in the last 29 years, in the United States. Do you think there might be a glut of attorneys out there?!?!

Since you are in “full law school mode,” you will likely respond with a variation of the following: “Yes, but those people who failed to land legal jobs didn’t work hard enough and didn’t earn good grades. I, on the other hand, WILL work hard and receive stellar grades. So, I don’t need to worry about such a fate befalling me.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/business/global/05legal.html?_r=1&src=busln&pagewanted=all

“Many corporations agree that outsourcing legal work, in some form or another, is here to stay.

“We will continue to go to big firms for the lawyers they have who are experts in subject matter, world-class thought leaders and the best litigators and regulatory lawyers around the world — and we will pay a lot of money for those lawyers,” said Janine Dascenzo, associate general counsel at General Electric.

What G.E. does not need, though, is the “army of associates around them,” Ms. Dascenzo said. “You don’t need a $500-an-hour associate to do things like document review and basic due diligence,” she said.” [Emphasis mine]

A nest of Biglaw cockroaches, calling itself the ABA Standing Committee on “Ethics and Professional Responsibility” issued ABA “Ethics” Opinion 08-451 in August 2008. This paved the way for U.S. law firms to outsource American legal discovery work to foreign lawyers AND non-lawyers. Biglaw partners are now “pursuing cost-effective strategies,” i.e. they are trimming the fat. These jobs are heading to India!!

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

“For instance, a different survey conducted by NALP found that between 3,200 and 3,700 graduates with jobs in law firms had their start dates deferred beyond December 1, 2009, with many deferred well into 2010.”

Of course, NALP was nice enough to count these graduates as employed – for the purposes of publishing better employment figures. They don’t want anyone to doubt their decision to attend law school, after all.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202463749951

Biglaw partners are concerned with maintaining their status and wealth, i.e. profits per partner. Hence, they are cutting back on hiring summer associates. Summer 2010 hiring was down 44 percent from Summer 2009. But, YOU will be different, right?!?!

“Some of the biggest cuts came from the top of The A-List. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom took the most severe hit in gross numbers, going from 223 summer associates in 2009 to 79 this year. Cravath, Swaine & Moore's summer class shrank by 81 percent to just 23 summer associates, the biggest percentage decrease in the survey -- except for Ballard Spahr, which cut its summer program entirely. Skadden and Cravath declined to comment, and Ballard Spahr did not return calls for comment.”

http://lawshucks.com/layoff-tracker/

“As of April 8, 2010, over 14,696 people have been laid off by major law firms (5,772 lawyers / 8,924 staff) since January 1, 2008.” [Emphasis mine]

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/grad_debt

Now, take a look at the average indebtedness for those Class of 2009 JDs who incurred student debt for law school. Look at the percentage of students from this class who took on such NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt. Remember, tuition will continue to climb each year that you are in law school.

http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2010/08/overseaslawschools.html

And, now the ABA will consider accrediting overseas law schools. Yes, this will be a great development, as we clearly do not have enough lawyers in this country, right?!?!

In closing, are you anxious about your decision to attend law school now?! If you take nothing else from this blog entry, remember this: if you are not from a wealthy family AND are not strongly connected to the legal industry, DROP OUT OF LAW SCHOOL AFTER FIRST SEMESTER IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE TOP 5%-10% OF YOUR CLASS. With that in mind, have fun reading about unilateral contracts, state long-arm statutes, negligence, mens rea, and the Rule Against Perpetuities.

Grab the Bleach: St. John’s University School of Law

http://new.stjohns.edu/services/financial/bursar/tuition/law/1011.stj

Tuition: For the 2010-2011 school year, full-time law students at $TT. John’$ will be charged $44,800 in tuition. Yes, tuition increased by $2,600 from the previous year, for a 6.16% increase. Part-time students will be charged $33,210, for an increase of $1,560 – or a 4.93 percent increase from last year.

http://new.stjohns.edu/academics/graduate/law/prospective/admissions/tuition.stj

For the 2009-2010 school year, full-time law students were charged $42,200 in tuition. Part-time law students were only charged $31,650 for the same academic year. What did St. John’s law students receive in exchange for this increase?!

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, St. John’s is ranked as the 72nd greatest, most phenomenal, amazing, exhilarating and terrific law school in the United States. Their mothers must be proud. They share this prestigious honor with the following five law schools: Penn State, $eTTon Hall, TTemple, Hawaii and Oklahoma.

http://new.stjohns.edu/academics/graduate/law/career/general/placement.stj

Employment Placement: According to this document, 96% of the Class of 2008 was employed within nine months of graduation. Yeah, sure they were – and Jessica Alba broke into my house last night, climbed on top of me, and dug her nails 1/4" into my chest.

“By February 2009, all 276 members of the Class of 2008 reported their employment status to the Office of Career Services. Of these 276 graduates, 241 were employed, and 10 were pursuing post-graduate degrees. The placement rate at nine months after graduation was 96%.” [Emphasis mine]

Actually, 241/276 = .873, which means that roughly 87.3% of the Class of 2008 was employed within nine months of graduation, not 96 percent. Even when you add in the ten JDs who went on to another advanced degree – and presumably count them as “employed” – the job placement rate is 90.9 percent, i.e. 251/276. In order to reach 96 percent, 265 of the 276 students would need to be employed. Next time you cook the books, get the figures right, geniuses.

Purported Starting Salary Figures:

“Salary Data

One-hundred and fifty seven (157) of 241 employed graduates reported their salaries to the Office of Career Services. The overall median for all graduates reporting their full-time employment salaries is $73,000.”

Some questions: what about those who reported their part-time employment salaries? Seeing that only 65.1% of survey respondents reported salary info, how can prospective students rely on this data? Also, considering that 29.3% of 2008 Class of 2008 respondents report working in firms of 2-10 lawyers, how can the median law firm starting salary be $147K, as reported by the school?!?! And if 140 out of 241 graduates report working in law firms, how can the remaining 101 respondents reporting salary info bring the OVERALL MEDIAN starting salary down to $73K?!?!

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/grad_debt

Average Indebtedness for Members of the Class of 2009: Thanks to a commenter on this site, we can take a look at the average indebtedness for recent law grads. According to US News, the average indebtedness for $TT. John'$ Univer$iTTy $chool of Law Class of 2009 JDs who incurred law school debt was $107,137!! We can also see that 85 percent of this toilet's graduating class went into debt for law school.

http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2009/111/630/2009-111630830-05e53fa5-9.pdf

Law School Faculty/Admin Compensation: Head over to page 36 of this PDF. This is the university’s 2009 Form 990. Andrew J. Simons currently “serves” the sewer of law as “vice president emeritus” – whatever the hell that is. In this capacity, he made $333,098 in TOTAL COMPENSATION in 2008. Dean of the commode, Mary C. Daly “earned” $595,459 in TOTAL COMPENSATION for 2008. Yes, the dean of the 72nd best law school in the land made a shade under $600K. Who says “higher education” isn’t a racket?!?!

Conclusion: This school is an overpriced Catholic commode. (because Jesus would charge $44,800 for one year of a TT education, right?!?!) Its graduates will be directly competing for jobs, i.e. those thankless tasks that allow us to pay our bills and living expenses, against JDs from Columbia, Cornell, NYU, and dozens of other law schools in the region.

A student can look forward to taking on $135K in NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt – from tuition alone!! When you take living expenses into account, a person without a trust fund will need to take on private loans – which feature higher interest rates and more ruthless terms. Do you want to go in the hole $100K-$180K for the chance to hang a TT law degree on your wall?

Wipe Thoroughly: Widener University School of Law

http://www.widener.edu/Media/Website%20Resources/docs/Enrollment%20Management/2010_SOL_GUIDETOFEES_06_16_10.pdf

Tuition: We can see that tuition for the 2010-2011 academic year comes out to $1160 per credit hour. Seeing that a full-time student will need 15 hours a semester, this comes out to roughly $17,400 per semester - or $34,800 per school year! And there is that pesky Bar Association Fee of $45 per semester. I am sure these students get their money’s worth.

http://law.widener.edu/Admissions/CostsandFinancialAid/CostofAttendance.aspx

Total Cost of Attendance: The school estimates that a student living in an off-campus apartment will accumulate an additional $17,504 in living expenses. This would take the total COA to $52,394 for the 2010-2011 school year.

However, I detect a sleight of hand by the law school. You see, the school comes up with the figure of $10,200 for room and board. It reaches this figure by the following monthly expenses: rent, $540; utilities, in the amount of $200; and $400 for board. Multiplying $1140 by a factor of 9 brings us to the amount of $10,260. (The idiots apparently think that $1140 * 9 = $10,200. Invest in a calculator; if you do so, you may move up to the third tier.) Multiplying this monthly figure by a factor of 12, gives us a yearly figure of $13,680. After all, law students require food and shelter for twelve months out of the year, not for only nine months annually. By the way, thanks for NOT mentioning/disclosing that these costs are for nine months, you shining beacons of integrity!!

Also, see how the school comes up with the total for “personal expenses”? The school also multiplies these expenses by a factor of nine. In actuality, personal expenses will amount to $4,032, not $3,024. Furthermore, yearly transportation costs will really be $3,120 - and not $2,340. Taking these corrections into account, the true total COA - for a full-time Widener law student- will be $57,662, i.e. $34,890 + $22,772.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/page+8

Ranking: Surely, this school’s reputation will justify the high cost of attendance, right?!?! What’s that you say? Widener Sewer of Law is ranked in the filthy, decrepit fourth tier of American law schools - according to US News & World Report?!?!

http://law.widener.edu/CampusLife/CareerDevelopment/EmploymentStatisticsandTrends.aspx

Alleged Employment Statistics: Widener claims/asserts that 95% of its Class of 2009 was employed or seeking another graduate degree within 9 months of graduation. Of course, fully 25 percent of these JDs are employed as judicial clerks. (How many of these positions are in traffic court?) Still, this is an incredible number - especially coming from a fourth tier piece of trash such as Widener Univer$iTTTTy Sewer of Law. After all, NALP claims that only 88.3% of the overall JD Class of 2009 was employed, which also takes the illustrious top three tier law schools into account. $omehow, Widener is able to best this figure by nearly 7 percent.

http://www.widener.edu/Media/Website%20Resources/docs/Institutional%20Research/QuickFacts2009%20Law%20School.pdf

“Fast Facts”: Total first year enrollment of 383 at the Delaware campus, and 181 at the Harrisburg branch. TOTAL JD ENROLLMENT of 1,438 students - as of Fall 2008. Of this figure, 468 are in the “prestigious” evening division!! This means that fully 32.5% of Widener law students are in the evening program.

http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2008/231/386/2008-231386178-051267c5-9.pdf

Total Compensation for Administrators: Looking at page ten of Widener University’s 2008 IRS Form 990, we can see that Dean Linda L. Ammons made $288,419 for 2007. She made $237,382 in compensation and $51,037 in “contributions to employee benefit plans & deferred compensation” that year. We can also see that John L. Gedid, “assistant vice dean” of the sewer of law made $229,661 for the same tax year. All for helping to provide a fourth tier “legal education”! Yes, “higher education” truly does pay off!

http://law.widener.edu/About/OurMissionandVision.aspx

Widener’s “Vision”:

“Widener University School of Law aspires to be a synergy of diverse and highly qualified students interacting with dedicated scholars, teachers, and practitioners in a vibrant, student-centered environment. Through specialized institutes and innovative teaching methods that connect theory, doctrine, and practical skills, Widener Law strives to produce outstanding and reflective lawyers. In law practice, scholarship, and civic engagement, the Widener Law community will advance the state of the art in law, justice, and ethical professionalism in the regional, national, and global communities it serves.”

Yes, charging your students $34,800 for one year of a TTTT education - and providing weak-ass job prospects - is the hallmark of ethical professionalism, isn’t it?!?!

Conclusion: This school is an over-priced commode/diploma mill. This is evidenced by the fact that the school has two campuses, with a total JD enrollment of over 1,400 students. What a fourth tier powerhouse, huh? DO NOT ATTEND this school, under any circumstances. One could easily graduate from this toilet with $150K in NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt - with abysmal job prospects. Would you take out six-figure debt for a chance to make $35K-$40K annually?!

“You Can Do Anything With a Law Degree, Such as Work for Free”

Unpaid Prosecutor Positions

http://www.justice.gov/oarm/jobs/10-ndca-06-e.htm

“Salary Information: This is a one-year appointment without compensation; uncompensated SAUSAs cannot be considered by this office for a permanent AUSA position for two years after expiration of this SAUSA’s one-year appointment.

Location: Oakland, California.

Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized.” [Emphasis mine]

Yes, this sounds like a dream job, doesn’t it? “Special” Assistant U.S. Attorney, indeed. No compensation and you must wait two years after the completion of the one-year appointment – to even be CONSIDERED for a permanent AUSA post.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-02-unpaidprosecutors02_ST_N.htm

You too can be an unpaid prosecutor in Marin County, CA, Washington DC or Atlanta!! What a truly presTTTigious “profession” this is, right?!?!

"Many of the applications are from newly unemployed (law firm) associates, recent graduates and even a few who are currently employed," Rosenstein said. "People who are applying see it as a stepping stone."

First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Horn said interest has been strong since the Atlanta office began offering "special" prosecutor positions last fall.

Nearly 40 applications have come in the past two months to compete for four new unpaid positions, which would normally pay between $70,000 to $100,000. Horn said the jobs, requiring commitments of at least six months to a year, are not internships typically filled by students.” [Emphasis mine]

Some may see this as a stepping stone to poverty. The fact that 40 applicants are vying for these four unpaid positions – and committing to at least six months on the “job” – shows CONCLUSIVELY that this industry is GROSSLY oversaturated.

Law Schools Paying Firms to Hire Their Graduates

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2010/05/smus_paying_would-be_employers.php

“The SMU Dedman School of Law has started a program called Test Drive, which is just what it sounds like: The university will pay a firm $3,500 to test drive one of its recent graduates for one month. And, says the school's pitch to prospective employers, it "will consider funding an additional month of employment if you and the graduate intend to continue the relationship toward full-time employment." [Emphasis mine]

SMU is shelling out $3,500 to firms who hire its law grads for one month; yes, a true sign of a powerhouse law school.

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/06/the-secret-to-100-employed-at-graduation-dukes-bridge-to-practice/

“As Duke Law News reported, Duke worked hard to ensure its graduates had jobs. While it didn’t go the SMU route of paying employers to “test drive” its graduates, it does now provide stipends to some of its unemployed graduates to allow them to work for a couple months at no cost to employers. Using SMU’s car metaphor, the law school pays for the gas while Dukies and prospective employers take a little spin. Duke calls it “The Bridge to Practice” program.

It started in 2008 — employing the nine graduates who would have otherwise ruined that nice round 100%. The numbers of participants have increased since then, as the economy has worsened.

The program had nine participants in 2008 and 15 in 2009. The number will likely double this year.”

Then again, the eleventh-best law school in the nation – according to U.S. News & World Report – is resorting to these methods. Apparently, they want to maintain their 100% placement rate.

Law School Construction Projects

http://law.ubalt.edu/template.cfm?page=1146

Hey, at least, the State of Maryland can donate $92 million for construction of a new Law Center on BalTTTimore’s campus. What a great investment, huh?!

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/su_plans_new_law_school_announ.html

And 86th-ranked Syracuse has received a $15 million gift to build a new law school on campus. The total goal is $90 million. Not for scholarships, but for a NEW BUILDING!!

http://www.ktvb.com/home/Ground-broken-for-Boises-first-law-school-96908944.html

And Boise, Idaho will receive its first law school – courtesy of PATHETIC PIECE OF TRASH Concordia University.

“Concordia isn't the only university with its sights set on Boise.

The University of Idaho is also working on bringing part of it's (sic) law school to the Treasure Valley.”

http://www.memphis.edu/lawdevelopment/campaign.htm

“The State of Tennessee allocated an unprecedented $42 million toward the renovation of the historic custom house, federal courthouse and most recently post office.”

Guess what? Memphis is still a third tier commode. Great use of taxpayer funds!!

In sum, there are NOWHERE NEAR ENOUGH jobs for recent JDs and attorneys, but the law schools have enough money to construct new law school buildings. The states are strapped for cash, but they have money to throw at these diploma mills. Does anyone want to argue that the law schools are concerned about the fate of their graduates?!?!

Profiles in Gluttony: Biglaw Hired Gun Steven C. Krane

On August 5, 2008, the ABA Standing Committee on “Ethics and Professional Responsibility” issued Formal Opinion 08-451, i.e. the infamous Outsourcing Opinion. This placed the ABA’s stamp of approval on U.S. law firms’ hiring foreign lawyers and non-lawyers for American legal discovery. Here is the text of that dastardly opinion:

http://www.aapipara.org/File/Main%20Page/ABA%20Outsourcing%20Opinion.pdf

There is some good news: the chair of this committee, Steven C. Krane of New York – “an expert on legal ethics” – recently died of a heart attack, at age 53. You talk about poetic justice! After all, he financially killed THOUSANDS of American JDs, who otherwise could have paid their bills and student loans with doc review gigs.

http://www.law.com/jsp/nylj/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202462938330&Steven_C_Krane_Proskauer_Rose_GC_Dies_Suddenly

“Steven C. Krane, the general counsel of Proskauer Rose and a former state bar president who was instrumental in a wide-ranging reformulation of the state's attorney ethics rules, died of a heart attack Tuesday. He was 53.

Mr. Krane collapsed at the conclusion of a business lunch at a restaurant near Proskauer's office at 47th Street and Broadway. He was pronounced dead at Roosevelt Hospital at 2:19 p.m.”

Apparently, Steven allowed his arteries to become clogged. (I suppose all the time he spent on screwing working-class lawyers and their families, and covering up for high-dollar, corporate criminals did not permit this man to exercise. Hence, his health declined to the point where he died of a heart attack, at age 53.) I am sure his “business lunch” cost more than many of us slap down for two weeks’ worth of groceries.

http://www.ethicscomplaint.com/2009/12/steven-c-krane-esq-proskaur-rose.html

For an interesting read on the workings of Krane and Co. at Proskauer Rose LLP, check out the link above. If the allegations are true, then this is a stinging indictment against this man, his firm, and the New York judicial system.

http://www.abanow.org/2010/06/statement-of-aba-president-carolyn-b-lamm-on-death-of-proskauer-roses-steven-krane/

And how can we complete this entry, without providing the link to ABA “president” Carolyn Lamm’s truly EMBARRASSING hagiography of Krane? [Disclaimer: Do not read this garbage if you have recently eaten anything – especially a business lunch.]

“The legal profession has lost one of its shining stars.

Steven C. Krane, general counsel for Proskauer Rose, was a brilliant lawyer, wonderful leader and good friend to so many in the American Bar Association.

Steven also was one of the nation’s foremost experts in the field of ethics and professional responsibility and was a model in those areas in his daily life. I was honored to have him serve on my Commission on Ethics 20/20, designed to look at the U.S. system of lawyer regulation in the context of advances in technology and global legal practice developments.”

http://www.nysba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=39553

Hopefully, you are not eating right now. The New York State Bar Association renamed a fund, to honor this man, i.e. “NEWLY RENAMED STEVEN C. KRANE FUND TO ASSIST YOUNG LAWYERS WORKING IN PUBLIC SERVICE WITH PAYING STUDENT LOANS.” Did this influential lawyer EVER advocate for lower tuition?! Did he ever push to make student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy?!?!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proskauer_Rose

Apparently, Krane “held significant concern” about the plight of recent, debt-soaked law grads working in public service positions - all while helping his corporate firm earn $643 million in revenues for 2009. (And thoughts/concerns speak louder than actions, right?!?!) What a Renaissance man!

http://readme.readmedia.com/State-Bar-Mourns-Passing-of-Past-President-Steven-C-Krane/1505066

Krane served on several ABA and New York State commissions, including an appointment by that shining beacon of integrity, David A. Paterson, to the “New York State Commission on Public Integrity” – whatever the hell that is.

In the final, brutal analysis, anyone who crushes the livelihoods for THOUSANDS of professionals - with a few keystrokes - is NOT deserving of one ounce of respect or one iota of sympathy. This guy made a lot of money by squashing little people, and protecting white collar scum.

Do not shed a single tear for this man. He devoted his "professional" career to serving the intere$t$ of Biglaw. It doesn't matter that Krane has been dead for less than 2 months. His efforts helped crush the livelihoods of many recent American JDs - all for the benefit of Biglaw.

Second Tier Sewage Plant: Syracuse University College of Law

http://law.syr.edu/admissions-and-financial-aid/financial-aid/tuition-and-cost-of-attendance.aspx

Tuition: For the upcoming 2010-2011 school year, first year full-time students - at this prestigious, amazing, mesmerizing law school – will be charged $43,500 in tuition. They will also pay $1,626 in required fees.

Total Cost of Attendance: The Commode of Law estimates that books and supplies, housing, meals, transportation, personal allowance, medical insurance, and average loan fees will add another $18,574 to the annual tab. This would bring the total estimated COA – for the first year, at this school – to $63,700! And considering that law students will need food and housing for TWELVE MONTHS, the total COA will actually be $67,777.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/page+4

Ranking: U.S. News & World Report rates this dump as the 86th greatest, most fantastic, brilliant and amazing law school in the United States. Of course, it shares this prestigious “honor” with six other schools, i.e. Hofstra, IU-Indianapolis, Northeastern, Seattle U. – they have a law school?!, Arkansas-Fayetteville, and Richmond.

So the school is over-priced, and the repuTTaTTion is not that great. What’s that you say, Lemming? YOU will make law review, rub shoulders with the movers and shakers of the legal community, get your name out there, and make some serious cash?!

http://law.syr.edu/professional-career-development/statistics/index.aspx

Starting Salary Statistics: The Office of “Professional & Career Development” at $yracu$e Univer$iTTy Commode of Law purports to show the following employment breakdown – for its Class of 2009: 44% in private practice; 21 percent in business & industry; 14% in government; 10 percent in judicial clerkships; 8% in public interest; and 3 percent in other.

How many of those judicial clerkships are paid positions? How many are in traffic court? How many of those currently clerking for a judge will find gainful employment for next year? Regarding those in “business & industry”, how many of these JDs are working as night managers at Pizza Hut? What percentage of this graduating class is waiting tables at Applebees? How many are taking orders at the Rise and Shine Diner?

“For members of the Class of 2009, salaries ranged from $160,000 for large firm practice to $35,000 for public interest law employment. The average salary reported by those in private practice law firm positions was $94,500. The average salary reported by those in public sector government jobs was $53,500, while the average salary reported by those in private sector jobs was $92,500. The average starting salary for all employment types was $76,500.” [Emphasis mine]

Would you invest $180K – that you CANNOT walk away from - for a chance to make $53K a year? Would you do so, for an outside shot at earning $94K or a lottery chance of making $160K?!?!?

http://law.syr.edu/admissions-and-financial-aid/fast-facts.aspx

Employment Placement: Under this “Fast Facts” page, it shows that 94% of the Class of 2008 was employed within nine months of graduation. Then again, employment may include temporary research assistant, insurance salesman, and bouncer at Alpine Bar & Gentlemen’s Club.

Oh, well. Let’s see how well some of the faculty members of this fine in$TTiTTuTTion are doing.

http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2008/150/532/2008-150532081-04a312cc-9.pdf

Go to page 10 of the Syracuse University 2008 Form 990. You can see that Syracuse dean and “professor of law”, Hannah Arterian made $372,803 in TOTAL COMPENSATION – for 2007. She made $330,960 in salary, $39,343 in contributions to employee benefit plans & deferred compensation, and $2,500 in expense account and other allowances.

We can see that dweeb/“law professor” Peter Blacnk made $438,722 in TOTAL COMPENSATION for the same tax year. To be fair, he holds several “appointments” with the university. Who says higher education doesn’t pay off?!?!

Conclusion: In the final analysis, this school is an overpriced commode. A student could EASILY land $160K in the hole, by attending this second tier sewage plant. If you absolutely MUST be an attorney, and you cannot get into a top 6-8 school, go to the cheapest, local law school – where you can live with family, to cut back on living expenses.

If your family – or girlfriend – is stressing the importance of attending law school, remember that this is YOUR life. You will be the one stuck with the NON-DISCHARGEABLE student debt. If you cannot find decent-paying work upon graduation, this WILL affect your level of happiness. This can also be a divisive issue in your marriage – as money will be tight. Ask yourself the following: Do you want to take on $160K in debt for *a chance* to earn $45K-$50K?

Clown College of Law: Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/MemberContentDisplay.aspx?ccmd=ContentDisplay&ucmd=UserDisplay&userid=10344&contentid=2072

Tuition: A full-time student at this law school will pay $46,224 in tuition for the 2010-2011 academic year - plus $570 in student fees. That is a hell of a lot of money to pay for one year’s tuition. In fact, that is on par with true heavyweights such as Columbia, which charges $48,648 in tuition for the upcoming school year and Yale Law School, which charges its students $48,500 in tuition for the 2010-2011 school year. (Employers also don’t laugh when they receive a resume from those JDs.) Oh well, at least part-time Carbozo students only pay $30,816 in tuition for the same academic year.

Total Cost of Attendance: Room, board, books, transportation, health insurance, loan fees and miscellaneous expenses are projected to add another $24,459 to the annual bill. This would bring the estimated total COA for a full-time student - for a single damn year at this school - to a mind-boggling $71,253!! After all, who doesn’t have $210K or so to drop down for the pursuit of a law degree, right?!?!

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

Ranking: This sewer is ranked as the 52nd best law school in the country, by U.S. News & World Report. This means that the school actually has a somewhat decent reputation, unlike most of the dumps featured on this blog. The BIG problem, however, is that Carbozo students and graduates are competing for jobs DIRECTLY with their counterparts from Columbia, NYU and Cornell. Even those not seeking Biglaw will find themselves competing against JDs from this school - as well as those from Harvard, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania.

http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/MemberContentDisplay.aspx?ccmd=ContentDisplay&ucmd=UserDisplay&userid=10340&contentid=10310

Employment and Starting Salary Statistics: For the Class of 2009, the school claims a placement rate of 91.5 percent - within 9 months of graduation. The Office of Career Services also asserts that 76.3% of this graduating class was “employed at graduation.” (And people don’t think Bozo is funny.)

“As the charts below reflect, Cardozo graduates are very successful in finding employment in their practice areas of interest, both in the private and public sectors. Of the 63.97% of the class who entered private practice, 55.8% are working at firms of 101 attorneys or more.”

Look at the figures published for Cardozo JDs working in law firms. The school lists a median salary of $160K and an average salary of $120K. The school also notes that 63.97% of this graduating class is employed in law firms. There is a footnote, stating that “91.05% of those working in law firms reported salary information.”

Notice the HUGE drop in salary for those Cardozo JDs working in government, business, public interest, and judicial clerkships. “But, hey, 63.97 percent of the JDs from our Class of 2009 are working in law firms!”

The school also touts that 80.81 percent of all employed students from this class reported salary information. What about the 19.19% who did not report their salary? I know! Maybe those graduates were too embarrassed to report their $230K salaries to the school. After all, they wouldn’t want to make their colleagues and former classmates who are only making $160K to feel bad, right?!?!

What is upsetting is that the school attracts solid applicants and top students, yet these numbers raise false hopes. How many Biglaw firms are taking on summer associates and extending offers to JDs?

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202463749951

The American Lawyer reports that summer hiring was down 44 percent for summer 2010. Cravath reports an 81 percent decline, from 123 summer hires firmwide in 2009 to 23 summer hired firmwide in 2010. Pillsbury Winthrop summer hires are down 67 percent, from 51 positions in 2009 to 17 this summer. Skadden has decreased it summer hiring by 65 percent, down from 223 hires in 2009 to 79 hires in 2010.

But, 55.8% of Carbozo’s Class of 2009 - those who reported their salary, anyway - was employed in a law firm of 101+ lawyers. Maybe, clowns are immune to such cutbacks.

Lastly, the school is known for its Innocence Project, which actually is a commendable clinical program. However, as JJD pointed out on her blog, Cardozo has not hired so much as ONE of its own graduates to work as an attorney on the Innocence Project. Seven staff attorneys, one managing attorney and two co-directors and not a single one earned a JD from Cardozo. Good research, JJD!

http://www.innocenceproject.org/about/Staff-Directory.php

Here is the link. You can confirm that the Project has no Cardozo law grads working as attorneys. That should tell you what the school thinks of its own graduates. Why not hire a scrappy lawyer from a place such as Cardozo, when dealing with how to get wrongly-convicted people off of death row?!

The total cost of attendance for this sewer of law exceeds $210,000 and the school does not want its own graduates touching its famed Innocence Project?!?! If you decide to attend this piece of trash, the joke is on you!