What about the other 90-95%?

I was talking to my father the other day about law school. In this conversation, the topic eventually shifted to how many lawyers there are, what jobs are available, and how much debt everybody was in. In his mind, there are thousands of lawyers being churned out every year by the 190+ ABA-accredited law schools (the top "100" according to US News & World Reports can be found here). Where do they all work? That is a good question.

As any law student knows, there are no shortage of adages that all say the same thing: it's all about who you know and who you blow. Put another way, the curve at the top ten schools is much different than the curve at any of the other tiers. Yet, the breakdown is about the same. The top of the class will have the best opportunities and the rest will be fighting for scraps. I look at the breakdown slightly differently: I see the only difference on paper between #1 and #190 is how deep the barrel for the "top" goes.

Granted, once you pass the bar, your opportunities increase. But as most law students are well aware, the opportunities present themselves well before this point for those who are on law review or at or near the "top" of the class. That is not to say that those not on law review or in one or more of the other law school societies (clinic, moot court, externs, etc.) can't get a job. I'm saying that for 90%+ of law school graduates, the job market is severely limited until you pass the bar. And even afterwards, it's still limited unless you were at the "top" (or know someone).

But more to the point, the debt is the same for all. Regardless of where you go, you are graduating with a debt ranging from $0 to $150,000+ (plus more if you have undergrad debt), and probably closer to the $80-100,000 range. Obviously if you are at the top of your class, opportunities abound, and debt probably isn't that big an issue. But for the rest, who I would say are taking public sector or small firm jobs, how can you live on a median income of $59,000 with that much debt?

Crunching the numbers, you've got around $47,000 after taxes. Granted, you'll get to deduct some of your interest, but that is still at least another $500 coming out of your $4000 monthly paycheck. And after you deduct rent or your mortgage and basic living expenses, it winds up being a rather modest monthly stipend. It's even worse for doctors (for their first three years of residency). But obviously you can survive on this. And given that us "J.D.s" are pretty well educated at this point, nobody should really be complaining.

I guess my point to all of this, and my answer to my dad's question is that the job market for attorneys are no better than any other profession. To paraphrase Christina Applegate in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, "It's a rat race, and everyone hates it." You still need to have a good resume, and in most cases, need a thick skin in order to survive. To even get in the high stakes ballpark to play their game, the odds are very much against you. Nevertheless, there are plenty of ballparks for all of us to play in. Everybody works somewhere.

Have something to add to this rambling? Feel free to post a comment.

Tags: law school debt, jobs for law school graduates