Graduating Law Students: Gap Between Salary Reality and Expectations Widens

It's no surprise to upcoming law school grads that jobs are scarce and salaries for new attorneys are much lower in many instances than before the recession.

US News & World Report  notes that students considering law school are seriously weighing the return on investment.  In the article published April 15^th, future law students are cautioned that  "Jobs are no longer a sure thing, and loans are harder to pay back.  Although the job market is improving, experts caution that law school hopefuls need to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of a law degree and, whether aiming for big law or Legal Aid, estimate their personal return on investment."

The publication reports that as salaries for new grads fall, the cost of a legal education increases.  Tuition rose 9 percent last year at public law schools and 6 percent at their private counterparts.  Eighty percent of law students now rely on loans to fund their legal education, the report added.  But in spite of these grim statistics, more and more people continue taking the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).  Last year the largest number of prospective law school attendees sat for the exam in a decade--up 6.4 percent from 2008.

Is there a bright spot in all of this?  US News quotes ABA president Carolyn Lamm saying that job prospects for new lawyers are improving, and that big firms are beginning to hire again and have work for associates who were deferred.