According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “more students are graduating from law school each year than there are jobs available.” That is the lowest percentage The National Association for Law Placement has ever measured. The Associated Press reported that The National Association for Law Placement said in June that only 64.4 percent of 2012 law grads “obtained a job for which bar passage is required.”
According to the Law School Admission Council, as of August, law school applications to American Bar Association-accredited schools nationwide were down nearly 18 percent from 2012, as well. The cause, as The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month, is fewer law school applications and declining overall enrollment.
Dean of Stetson Law, Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz, said that law school isn’t just about getting a job. “Law school is a stepping stone in not only being able to practice law but to make a difference in communities,” stated Pietruszkiewicz.
University of Florida Levin College of Law’s tuition and fees over three years are about $66,000 for residents and nearly $125,000 for those from out of state. Stetson University College of Law is a private institution and has campuses in Gulfport and Tampa. It was founded in 1900 and it bills itself as “Florida’s first law school.” Its current tuition and fees for a 3-year law degree are about $113,000.
As for prospective students, they should not consider even applying without getting the granular information they need to analyze what is happening to graduates, according to TBO. And that means getting the full and complete information these schools submit every year to the National Association of Law Placement and the ABA. Just say, “I want to see your long NALP form, because that will show me without any names what the outcomes are for your graduates and will include salary information.” And if a school won’t give it to you, then don’t apply.
The Tampa Tribune reports that President Obama, who is a former lawyer and law professor, has also has asked law schools to think about eliminating the last year of the traditionally 3-year-long legal education, in turn, saving the students money. For now however, Florida’s law schools are still a 3-year venture. Government work is one option for those pursuing the legal career track in a state with 11 American Bar Association-approved law schools.
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