Law school graduates from Oregon and the nation lost in debt, looking for work | OregonLive.com
The PHL has not yet faced this dilemma but I've the feeling a few years from now this problem will soon bother our country. We, too, face high costs of law education and over supply of lawyers. But the irony is that in many poor rural towns, you can't find even one private trial lawyer. Lawyers focus on cities.
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Law firms are downsizing, a handful are going bankrupt. Nearly 9 percent of law firm associates lost their job in 2009. Clients are demanding a new cost-sensitivity, an environment that leaves precious little room for new law school grads.
The struggling young lawyers personify one of the great public policy dilemmas of our time. A highly educated citizenry has never been more vital to America's global competitiveness. But is higher education worth the ever-increasing cost? Is the trillion-dollar torrent of student loans bankrolling the system sustainable? Is a system that leaves some of the best and brightest of the young generation mired in debt doing anyone any favors?
The issue raises hard questions for the very big business of higher education. What is the morality of law schools collecting $4 billion-plus in annual tuition and fees to produce another 43,000 lawyers when supply far exceeds demand?
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