Advice & Consent

There has been a profound increase in the number of faculty at American Law schools. The average law school has lowered its faculty-to-student ratio by 22 percent over the past 10 years. The average ratio has almost dropped in half since 1978, according to official American Bar Association data.

I have a confession. Last semester, I visited Facebook during class. I shopped for shoes, checked my email and even chatted with a sibling (while she was at work in Florida). Of course, I occasionally took notes and even looked up from time to time so that I would appear attentive. I am not the only one. I can see that my classmates are equally distracted with email and Facebook; one even designs t-shirts during Torts.

After waffling for two and a half years about whether or not I actually want to be a practicing attorney, this semester I bit the bullet and decided to sign up for our law school’s Civil Clinic. Not only did I see this as a great way to fill almost half of my course load, but I figured that if I was ever going to use this education, it might be good to get a set of “training wheels” before I got onto the big bike after graduation.

As in most other aspects of life, the “Seven Deadly Sins” manifest themselves in legal education.

There’s plenty of Professor Kingsfield–style wrath (see class discussions with unsuspecting 1L’s). There’s both pride and envy (Google “law school rankings” for some examples). And there may even be lust.

In a recent post, we asked if there are too many law schools? Now we learn that the state of Massachusetts hopes to acquire Southern New England School of Law.

Southern New England has been in operation since 1981, accredited by the state, but not by the American Bar Association. University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth has been in discussion with Southern New England for the past five years about the possible acquisition. And the non-profit law school is being offered at no charge to the state.

The first day of school was always a big deal. I looked forward to new teachers, new subjects and new friends. The first day of law school held all of that excitement for me. That newness, added to the motivation of this new life endeavor, kept me motivated all semester long. I was gung-ho law school. Proud that I had been accepted, inspired to work hard.

Mark Greenbaum, a Washington, D.C. attorney, has been widely quoted over the past week for an opinion column he wrote in the Los Angeles Times where he asserts there are too many law schools.

A few months ago I wrote about the need to www.nationaljurist.com/content/why-it’s-time-teach-morality-law-sc... ">teach morality in law schools. Now according to the latest LSSSE survey, we see that more law students are shifting towards public interest work, and more importantly, they are learning more about “integrity in personal and professional settings.”

I don’t need to tell you that the economy stinks right now. In fact, if you’re anything like me, you’ve already shot out of bed a few nights from a, “I live at home with my parents again because I’m unemployable,” dream. Fret not, fellow 3L. Below are my four tips for coping with the stress of being not-yet-employed.

1. Relax.

Since starting law school, I’ve been frantically counting down the minutes until the start of my third year. I took a lot of stock in the old adage about the progression of law school: “In the first year, they scare you to death. The second year, they work you to death. And in the third, they bore you to death.”

After the predictions about the first two years came true, I was really excited to be bored.

Well, ye olde adage maker, you’re full of it. I’m nearing the halfway mark of my third year, and I’m busier than ever!