The Job Gap, the Money Gap, and the Responsibility of Legal Educators
24 Pages Posted: 9 Mar 2013
Date Written: March 7, 2013
Abstract
This essay, presented as part of Washington University's Becker Symposium in October 2012, discusses three gaps in legal education: the gap between the number of law school graduates and the jobs available, the gap between tuition levels and expected income, and the slowness of legal educators to recognize and address these problems. Drawing upon data from the National Association of Law Placement and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, I illustrate the size of the first two gaps. I then argue that, although legal education clearly creates economic value, the dramatic rise in law school tuition has taken much of that value from graduates and bestowed it upon educators. That outcome raises both professional and policy concerns.
Keywords: Jobs, Legal Education
JEL Classification: K00
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation