Putting student debt on trial
Law school applications are plummeting, so what are they worth?
You may have to find a new way to make mom proud.
A new report from the New American Foundation shows problematic debt levels for graduate students — an 8 percent annual rise for the last four years. Law school in particular is known for its hefty tuition bills — the average debt load for law students in 2012 was just over $140,000.
And applications have plummeted in the past few years.
At the same time, John Cashman, vice president for law firm recruiting at Major, Lindsey & Africa says the state of the job market right now for lawyers is “dicey.”
“I think the value of a law degree is basically the same,” Cashman adds. “What’s changed, is the calculation of risk and return is much more important.”
*CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the spelling of the name of the law firm Major, Lindsey & Africa. The text has been corrected.