It was bound to happen. As the economy tanked and jobs for recent graduates fell, law school admissions continued to rise, leading to a glut in the legal job market. The result was numerous articles and blogs begging students to think twice before jumping into law school. Those words of warning seem to have finally had an impact.
New applications for law school are down 11.5% this year, to just under 67,000 – the lowest number since 2001. But it may not be entirely attributable to a depressed legal job market. As the economy improves, there are more jobs available for college graduates without advanced degrees making the prospect of joining the work force now more appealing, rather than racking up another hundred thousand dollars or so in student loans.