❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now

Law school loan payback won’t be brief

Marketplace Staff Jan 1, 2010
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Law school loan payback won’t be brief

Marketplace Staff Jan 1, 2010
HTML EMBED:
COPY

TEXT OF STORY

STEVE CHIOTAKIS: You know what else keeps going up? The cost of college. The average law student takes out $60,000 to $90,000 for school. And despite what you think, they’re not all making big bucks right after graduation.

Sally Herships reports some can’t even find a job.


ADRIENNE HILL: Eric Rakoczy just graduated from Loyola Law School in Chicago. He owes a lot in student loans and he can’t find a job. So he’s going back to school. That way he can defer his loans for a year. But more school also means more debt.

ERIC RAKOCZY: It’s not a lot in the big picture. I mean, what’s the difference between 150 grand and 170 grand, really? In the loan payments it’s only a few more dollars a month.

Brian Hamilton is CEO of Sageworks. He analyzes data on law firms and other companies. He says it’s not just Rakoczy, the entire law industry is suffering right now. Revenue is down 21 percent from last year.

Brian Hamilton: Of our top 10 worst performing industries, the legal profession is number two.

That’s worse than car dealerships or furniture stores. Hamilton says with the recession companies that have been traditional clients of lawyers are struggling to maintain profit margins by cutting costs. And for those companies legal fees can seem like big bucks. That means fewer jobs for recent grads like Racozky.

I’m Sally Herships for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.