Sunday, November 11, 2007

Is a Law Degree Worth It Anymore?

The answer is yes and no. For those headed to elite (Tier 1) law schools there are no worries. Tier 1 law schools include those such as Harvard, Georgetown, UVA, University of Chicago, and University of Michigan. Typically Tier 1 law schools need an LSAT of 165 or higher out of the scaled score of 180. GPAs to be admitted to these law schools vary from 3.67 to 4.0. For those headed to Tier 2 or lower forget about a law degree. While one may learn something at these schools the amount of money paid for a JD is not worth the future salary. To learn more, read the WSJ online article here.

A portion of the article can be found below:


"A law degree isn't necessarily a license to print money these days.

For graduates of elite law schools, prospects have never been better. Big law firms this year boosted their starting salaries to as high as $160,000. But the majority of law-school graduates are suffering from a supply-and-demand imbalance that's suppressing pay and job growth. The result: Graduates who don't score at the top of their class are struggling to find well-paying jobs to make payments on law-school debts that can exceed $100,000. Some are taking temporary contract work, reviewing documents for as little as $20 an hour, without benefits. And many are blaming their law schools for failing to warn them about the dark side of the job market."

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