The True Value of a Law Degree, or, Why Did Thurgood Marshall Go to Law School?
65 Hastings Law Journal Voir Dire 11 (2013)
University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2014-01
University of Tennessee Legal Studies Research Paper No. 227
10 Pages Posted: 13 Jan 2014 Last revised: 25 Nov 2014
Abstract
There has been vigorous debate in recent months over whether a law degree is a worthwhile investment. Much of this discussion has focused on whether the economic costs of obtaining a degree pay off over a lawyer’s career. This conversation has largely overlooked the many non-economic benefits of a law degree. In this essay, we seek to re-introduce several non-economic factors back into this important dialogue. We suggest that prospective law school applicants would be wise to consider these non-economic factors in addition to economic ones.
Keywords: Legal Profession, Economic Value of Law Degree, Market for New Lawyers, Types of Legal Practice, Roles of the Lawyer, Thurgood Marshall
JEL Classification: J23, J24, J31, J44, J63, L84
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation