Well, the admission cycles for most schools have come to a close. I'm almost certain April 31, 2013 will be the last day even for schools with extended application periods. If you happen to be one of the unfortunate students that did not get into your first, second, or even third pick- there is always next year. The only way that this would be possible is if your LSAT score was not that great and maybe you should reconsider why you are going to Law School in the first place. If you can't bare to wait another year-then there are always fourth tier and unranked schools. However, from what I understand there is absolutely...let me correct that...almost no chance of getting a legal job if one has a fourth tier or unranked school on his esteemed resume. So what are the options? It is a fact that Law School applications are down almost 40% since 2010. It is a fact that only 56% of new grads secured jobs that require bar passage within 9 months of graduation. This means less students are going to law school and less students are securing long term gainful employment. Only the top students from top schools are going to get coveted jobs at large firms. The options are not great. Three years of underemployment, saddled with non-dischargeable debt, and a JD from a school that is 2nd, 3rd, or 4th rate. It seems law school is not a very smart decision when taking these factors into account.
I am inclined to take a more optimistic approach. What happened to being resourceful? Where did ambition and hard work go? The numbers at face value are awful. However, the numbers run the entire gamut. Only 3% of the entire 2012 entering class were African American males. There are no statistics on Underrepresented Minorities and their job prospects. That says a whole lot to me. It seems logical to assume if only 3% of Law Students are Black males that these men will also be the minority when it comes to job opportunities. Black men that attend lower ranked schools typically are able to secure sizeable scholarships. Black men that do well on their LSAT typically can get into better schools than their counterparts with comparable numbers. I assert that Black men who were fortunate enough to go to college, earn a high GPA, have minimum involvement with the criminal justice system, and still want to become lawyers-Please do so! We need public interest attorneys, we need criminal defense attorneys, we need passionate public defenders. Yes, I know that these jobs do not pay well. Money is probably the last reason that you should go into a legal career. Try to take out the least amount of loans as possible and attend the best school as possible. If you are passionate, resourceful, and optimistic then you can always hang your own shingle. I'm definitely not an expert on the subject...hell I havn't even taken my first law class yet. I just don't want to see all of the capable Black men run out of the profession because of fear.
