For months now, we have discussed on the blog how the number of law school applicants is declining. While important, it is also necessary to focus on why the remaining applicants are still considering law school. We have discussed the benefits of a legal education and the job prospects in light of the changing landscape, but now we are going to look at the “cultural capital” of a law degree.

According to Lucy Jewel, an associate professor of law at the University of Tennessee, earning a law degree yields benefits beyond the economic gains. Her new paper for the Journal for the Legal Profession examines the social mobility associated with obtaining a law degree, a concept she argues extends past moving up within the structures of one's society. For many graduates, achieving the dream of becoming a lawyer represents the attainment of membership in a significant profession, as well as a critical role within their respective communities.

In her words:

Every graduation, when I see the beaming smiles from my students’ family members, I do not think about the fact that they are getting a degree from a so-called fourth-tier toilet law school; I see people who have achieved a dream (albeit at great financial expense) and obtained a credential that signifies membership in a powerful profession. Even for low-status members of the profession, there is still power, because all attorneys are vested with the ability to bring the power of the state to bear (even if this means filing a small claims lawsuit or negotiating a personal injury claim with an insurance company). That the symbolic value of the credential does not convert to a purely economic value is irrelevant in this equation …

Rather, a law degree provides the recipient with value in knowing a little bit more about how the world works and how to obtain benefits in an institutional setting (such as a courtroom, business negotiation, or school). This type of cultural capital creates small-scale benefits that add up and can also be transmitted to one’s children. Therefore, the cultural capital encapsulated in a law degree can and does connect with social mobility, even though it may not directly connect with economic wealth.

While these social benefits may not outweigh the economic costs for some potential applicants, Jewel's paper does offer interesting food for thought when it comes to the changing face of law school. Her point that the cultural value of law school may continue to defy economic reason in the future is certainly worth considering.

While many of you are probably in the home stretch of preparations for the December LSAT (and we'll have test day tips for you on Thursday), today we're going to look at whether or not it is an ideal time to apply to law school.

With the legal job market and improving and declining numbers of LSAT test-takers, it seems like now is the time to strike if you are looking to maximize your chances for acceptance. Some, like Ryan Calo at Forbes, are optimistic about students' opportunities if they enter law school during the next few years. With fewer applicants competing for spots, some law schools are shrinking their enrollment goals, while others are working even harder to attract top candidates. Proponents argue that, for some students, these changes can open the door to scholarships and one-on-one attention that they might not have had during peak enrollment years. Not only has the application process become more favorable, but with fewer graduates competing for jobs, the employment rate for new lawyers is far higher than in recent years.

Some legal watchers remain more skeptical in the face of these changing dynamics, emphasizing the backlog of graduates still searching for employment opportunities. Even with fewer graduates entering the market in the future, they believe that the market will not be able to keep up with the existing demand. Deborah J. Merritt, a professor at Ohio State University of Law, makes an important point that the quality of positions available may be changing just as rapidly as the quantity. It is difficult to predict whether the majority of opportunities available for future graduates will be traditional associate positions or document review and contract positions that are more reflective of the recent changes in the market.

While both proponents and skeptics make strong arguments, the decision to apply to law school remains a personal decision for every student. It is important to weigh your individual pros and cons for doing so, while also taking into consideration the opportunities you may gain from further studies and experience.  

Researchers at the University of Dayton School of Law recently released the findings from a study on what legal employers expect from law school graduates. Most observers would expect the employers to emphasize a need for writing and analytical skills, and they do touch on the importance of such capabilities. However, the respondents focused far more on so-called “soft” skills, like work ethic and individual responsibility.

In terms of the expected practical skills, employers highlighted the importance of conducting research, a skill to which most thought law schools should devote more time and resources. As new hires are often tasked with compiling up-to-date research for cases, respondents emphasized the need for graduates to know how to scour all available sources effectively, while also keeping in mind the purpose and the audience of an assignment. While lengthy research memos are commonly assigned, so too are shorter writing assignments for clients or other parties. Just as employers' preferences vary, clients' preferences for the amount of information provided differ as well. Recognizing how to tailor work products was observed by respondents as a critical skill.

Past the practical skills desired, employers voiced opinions on new hires' attitudes to the workplace and the work assigned to them. Coming in with a positive attitude and being able to work independently rated high on employers' list of desired “soft” skills. One even stated that some graduates come in to firms with an expectation that employers will “sit down and kind of spoon feed them.” For the employers interviewed in the study, that kind of attitude is problematic for new hires looking to succeed in the legal field.

While this study was focused on firms in the Dayton, Ohio area, it is beneficial for law students to understand what skills to cultivate prior to graduation.

Last week, Sherman J. Clark, a law professor at the University of Michigan, published a paper taking on the question many have asked in recent years: what, exactly, is the purpose of law school? With the downturn in applications that we discussed earlier this month, law schools are reconfiguring their objectives, and Clark poses interesting ideas for how legal education can be reshaped.

He argues that a legal education can provide students not only with the tools necessary to enter the legal job market, but also the capacity to handle obstacles in their lives outside of the law. While acknowledging the skepticism his argument spurs with many, Clark's look at the purpose of a legal education may actually shed new light on why pursuing a legal career still yields benefits that reach beyond the degree.

As he says, “if we are to be thoughtful about the impact of law school on the quality of lives, we must be willing to think at least tentatively about what makes for quality in life.”

Even though many may not agree with his argument, it is certainly a conversation worth having.

By now, you've probably seen the headlines about the decline in LSAT test-takers. After releasing the October scores early last week, the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) also sent out updated data showing that 33,673 people sat for the exam. Compared to the October 2012 test date, there was an 11% drop in tests administered. The decline from 2009, when more than 60,000 people took the October test, is even more dramatic, with the Wall Street Journal estimating a 45% difference.

You're not alone if the numbers are causing you concern, but John A. Byrne has an interesting take on why this decline may be the best case for law school we've seen in some time. In the years immediately following the recession, not only did the number of LSAT test-takers spike, but so did the number of law school applicants. The influx of law school students meant that the legal field was saturated by new JDs searching for work after graduation.

For the last few years, all we've seen in the news is that these graduates are struggling to find employment in the field, so the decline in people pursuing legal careers is of benefit to those of you still competing for entrance into competitive schools. As Byrne points out in his article, the smaller applicant pool means that those competitive schools are slightly less competitive than they once were. And just like applications may yield more positive results, it's likely that career prospects will follow the same trend in the next few years as the market for legal jobs stabilizes.  

Planning to apply to law school? Have questions about the application process or a specific program?

If you're in DC next Monday, October 7th, you're in luck because George Washington University is hosting this year's Washington, DC Law School Fair. The event is completely free and open to anyone interested in hearing more about law schools across the country.

Details:

October 7, 2013
4:00 – 7:00 PM
Foggy Bottom - Charles E. Smith Center
600 22nd Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

To read more about the fair, check out the website: http://go.gwu.edu/lawfair13 or contact Michael Gabriel at dclawschoolfair@gmail.com.

Law School (total students)

1. Yale (600)
2. Harvard (1700)
3. Stanford (500)
4. Columbia (1200)
5. NYU (1400)
6. UC Berkeley (900)
7. University of Chicago (600)
8. Penn (800)
9. University of Michigan (1200)
10. University of Virginia (800)
11. Northwestern (1200)
12. Cornell (600)
13. Duke (600)
14. Georgetown (1600)
15. Vanderbilt (600)
16. UCLA (1000)
17. University of Texas (1300)
18. USC Gould (600)
19. Washington University in St. Louis (800)
20. George Washington (1400)

Although it's not too surprising, an interesting study conducted in 2004 suggests that the LSAT does a better job of predicting how well you'll do on in-class tests than on take-home exams or assigned papers.

This power to predict, however, is important to admissions committees because most of your law school GPA depends on in-class tests. In fact, most classes base your grade on nothing but one three-hour final exam at the end of the semester. Much like your LSAT score, your grade depends on one great performance.

The study concludes that the LSAT's time constraints make it most similar to in-class exams. In short, speed matters on the LSAT and in law school.

Your GPA, on the other hand, does a good job of predicting how well you'll do in all three scenarios -- in-class exams, take-home exams, and assigned papers -- which is probably why law schools look at your GPA right after they look at your LSAT score. These numbers aren't perfect, but they start to reveal what you've done in the past and what you'll likely do in the future.

That said, preparing for the LSAT does more than just prepare you for the test itself. Students who invest themselves develop the very skills the exam is testing. And that prepares you for law school.

For those who are interested, here's the original study:

Speed as a Variable on the LSAT and Law School Exams

Beware, it's a 3 MB PDF.