In the month of May, the legal industry added a small amount of jobs, roughly 600, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of added jobs is a decrease from the 3,500 jobs the industry added in the month of April. Law schools have been receiving heavy criticisms regarding the production of too many lawyers, providing employment data for graduates that does not provide a realistic prospective and for using outdated curriculum.
The University of Seattle and the University of Alaska Anchorage are joining forces to create a juris doctor program for students who complete courses at the school in Anchorage. The program is still waiting for an approval from the American Bar Association as well as the administration and law faculty of Seattle University. The program would permit rural Alaskans and Alaska Natives to study law without having to leave the state for three years. Alaska is the only state in the country without a law school as the state’s legislature did not vote to fund a law school earlier in 2012.
Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Walter Carpeneti and Chief Justice-Elect Dana Fabe said in a statement, “We can think of few actions that hold more promise than to offer the chance for a legal education to all Alaskans while increasing the diversity of the Alaska bar and, eventually, the Alaska bench.”