Starting Law School in a Recession

jsaleh2020

I hate that I have to bring up something "negative" but realistic. I have been thinking more and more about the impact of getting into debt during a potential recession and gaining employment after law school. Would anyone happen to have any insight in regards to the impact of a recession on the legal field?

Thanks,

Joseph

Logician

Well... I mean if you're looking at it economically, the start of a recession can be a a good time to invest in human capital (i.e yourself). This is because the opportunity cost of going to school during a recession is usually a lot lower (unless of course you have a recession-proof business or income, which i'm going to assume is not the case). Not to mention that during a recession interest rates are cut to stimulate spending, which means less interest payments on whatever loans you may take out. Lastly, the average historic length of recessions have been steadily decreasing (take that how you will). I know that after the great recession the legal market had a very rough time rebounding, so if we anticipate a similar lag in the legal market after the next recession, you'd be wise not to go to an unranked or lower ranked school as it would be presumably harder for those graduates to find work following the end of a recession. Again, this is just my perspective.

jsaleh2020

Thanks I appreciate a "cup half full" perspective. My thoughts were similar to most of the points you mentioned, I guess I just needed some validation as to whether I was the only one thinking like that.

EagerestBeaver

I thought I saw this thread earlier, and I wanted to revisit it. I spoke with a law professor at a Big Ten university about this yesterday. Their response was it would be a very bad time to graduate right now. Next year will probably be better than this year but still suboptimal. After that, it is hard to say. They also said, similar to @Logician above, the benefit of going to a higher ranked school is even more pronounced during a downturn. Unless you are at the absolute top of your class elsewhere, the higher ranked universities will provide the best of the limited opportunities available. For that reason, this professor explicitly said higher ranking should outweigh debt in regards to future employment. Good question. I also share your concerns.

studyingandrestudying

The recession of '08 was tough on the legal profession. Prof. Ben Barton has been interviewed on podcasts and has a book on this topic. Though '08 had different starter factors, '20 is seeming to be headed for some similar financial concerns.

FindingSage

I have similiar concerns to yourself, and am glad that I didn't make the decision to try to push into going to law school for 2020 and going to a lower ranked school with a sub par scholarship. I have a cousin who graduated in 2008 or maybe the next year. She attended a lower ranked school and took on a lot of debt. While she was in school she did well, and excelled in her internships. She had a great job that paid very well lined up upon graduation. When she graduated the 2008 recession had hit full force and that oppurtunity was long gone as were any oppurtunities like it. Realities for new graduates at that time were jobs that paralegals could do. She eventually got a good job, but still buried in student debt years later. She says the goverment has a mortgage on her brain.
I am not sharing this as a doomsday story but more to emphasize the importance of getting into a good school and avoiding debt as much as possible. Seriously, unless there is an oppunity for a T-14 school I am not going to be attending law school until I score high enough on the LSAT to get a full ride. I do agree that rank is more important but still once you are out of the top 14, I wouldn't say there is much benefit to paying close to sticker price for a school ranked in the 20's versus getting a full ride to a school ranked in the 30's.

Mario Robo

I just want to point out that when you speak a professor from a top ten law school they are likely to have a very strong bias of going to a higher ranked school because that is where they are. I would say take what they say with a grain of salt. Although, I definitely do not think it is worth the risk of going to a much lower ranked school without a great scholarship. Still important to remember though that sometimes going to a lower ranked school is actually optimal if location wise it is the best school and that is where you want to practice.

JDream2025

there is so much more you can do with a JD and there are lawyers that actually don’t end up practicing law. Let’s be optimistic!!!