Law school enrollment is plummeting. In 2014, the total number of law students in the United States dipped to levels not seen since 1987, when the nation’s population was 25% smaller than today. This trend is unlikely to reverse anytime soon. Fewer and fewer people are taking the LSAT, while last year saw the smallest first-year class since Richard Nixon was president.
What’s behind this exodus from studying law? Mainly two
factors: Poor job prospects, combined with high tuition. The employment rate
for the class of 2013 fell for the sixth
year in a row. These already-dismal figures actually paint an overly positive picture of
the job prospects for new attorneys, since many new graduates hold temporary positions, but are
counted as employed.
What’s more, nearly 1/3 of those who are
working, are in positions which don’t require an employee to be a licensed attorney.
The portion of graduates actually practicing law has decreased continually
since 2008.
That year, the financial crisis, and accompanying economic
downturn, led to mass layoffs, bankruptcies, and reductions in hiring at law
firms. Despite an economic recovery, hiring of new attorneys remains lackluster,
with starting salaries well below pre-2008
levels.
Even with these employment realities, law school
remains expensive, with median
tuition increasing each year, and average student loan debts
of over $120,000 for private school graduates, and $84,000 for those who
attending public law schools.
It isn’t surprising that law school enrollment has fallen
precipitously. Yet, there is a massive need for legal services which remains unmet, thanks to
the mismatch between attorney
billing rates, and what most Americans can afford to pay.
In the World Justice Project’s recent assessment of global
access to civil justice, the United States ranked a dismal 65th out of 99
countries studied. Unlike low-income defendants in criminal matters, for whom lawyers are appointed, litigants
in civil cases enjoy no such right. Combined with limited funding for legal aid programs, this has led to as
much as 80% of the civil legal needs of the poor remaining unmet.
The middle class isn’t faring well either.
Even newer attorneys typically charge in
excess of $200 per hour, while the average American earns under $25 hourly. Over the past several decades, the
portion of attorneys representing corporations has grown substantially, but there are
relatively fewer lawyers for those
facing life-altering legal challenges like divorce, child custody and support
disputes, eviction, and debt collection lawsuits.
Even in our nation’s wealthiest states, many litigants remain unrepresented. In New York, 98% of tenants
facing eviction appear without an attorney, as do 80% of defendants in consumer
debt lawsuits in Maryland, and 67% of petitioners in family law
cases in California.
In lots of these cases, not having a
lawyer leads to significantly worse final outcomes. For those in poorer states, a
widespread lack of even basic
legal assistance for those who are self-represented, further increases these
challenges.
Legal aid organizations rely heavily on law student interns
and recent graduates, both for conducting research in complex cases, and to
directly serve litigants in simpler matters.
Fewer law students means less people will receive such
assistance. Law schools also offer their own legal clinics; today, some of
these clinics are starting to shut down. These shifts will
further harm those who are already underserved.
If law school enrollment trends continue, there will
eventually be a stronger match between this reduced number of graduates, and
the availability of positions offering competitive salaries. Unfortunately,
this adjustment won’t make attorneys affordable for those of limited means.
The debt incurred attending law school, high living costs in urban
areas where attorneys are heavily concentrated, and the volume of
business required to build a sustainable practice while charging low fees,
means that without major reforms, few freshly-minted attorneys will serve those
who aren’t affluent.
To overcome these challenges, governments, law schools,
bar associations, and the private sector, must work towards new solutions,
which offer those with low to moderate incomes with a real shot at justice.
More states ought to explore the approach of Washington, where trained
non-lawyers, known as Limited Legal Technicians, can offer an expanded array of
legal assistance at reduced costs. Another compelling recent development
is the rise of technology-based startups, offering creative solutions to make
the law more reachable, often without the use of lawyers.
Of course, there are numerous instances where the
knowledge and judgment of a skilled attorney is critical. To encourage
attorneys to serve low and middle-income clients, federal and state governments
should offer tax benefits for time spent focusing on such work. South Dakota, where lawyers who
practice in underserved regions of the state receive public subsidies, has
taken a novel approach to solving this problem.
Law school needs to become less expensive, and more
focused on preparing students for the practice of law. Legal faculty, and the
American Bar Association ought to seriously consider the reduction of law school
to just two years, combined with a third year of practical training.
Incubator programs like those recently
implemented in California, provide yet another fascinating example of how we
might produce new attorneys who are capable of serving local communities with
limited access to legal services.
All of these efforts will have an underwhelming impact
without a strong federal commitment to funding the Legal Services Corporation,
which distributes funds to legal aid groups nationwide. Recent budget increases are a step in the right direction.
Given the societal consequences of a lack of
representation (seen in the expense of providing public benefits for those facing
eviction, or jailing parents who can
neither afford to pay their child support, nor pay for a lawyer to explain why),
it makes financial sense for the government to back legal aid programs, who can
alleviate these problems early on, and thus reduce costs down the road.
The World Justice Project found several bright spots in the American
approach to the law. Our judiciary offers strong checks on other branches of
government, and remains relatively free of corruption.
Sadly, with justice rationed by wealth, tens of millions
of Americans never reap the benefits of this system. People shouldn't have
their wages garnished by judgments
obtained through false statements from debt
collectors, or face unjust eviction from
their homes, simply because they can’t afford a lawyer.
For prospective law students, it might seem to make little
financial sense to join the legal profession. Having graduated from law school
in 2010, a time of downsizing and
hiring freezes, I empathize with this concern. Still, for those seeking
meaningful work, representing those of limited means presents a massive
opportunity.
It is possible to open the doors of justice to the
countless Americans locked outside, and build a better society in the process. Such
change will require real openness, and a commitment to reform, on the part of
law schools, governments, private sector innovators, and the entire legal
profession. This won’t be an easy task. But if we truly believe in a society
where justice is available for all people, there is no other way forward.
