Matthew Willens, a Chicago personal injury attorney, who also teaches at Loyola University’s Chicago’s law school, has announced the launch of a $1000 “Anything But Law School Graduate Scholarship” for students. Willens’ program is in response to his conviction that many law schools are “pumping out more lawyers than there are lawyer jobs.”
According to Willens, even great law students are burdened with debts that crush their prospects, and with no job offers, they are being forced to launch practices without the necessary experience.
He said, “They’re hanging a shingle and they just really don’t know what they’re doing … it doesn’t help the profession. It’s a black eye.”
He thinks many of the bright students who have steered themselves into precarious situations by pursuing a career in law could have done much better elsewhere.
Willens said, “Some of the brightest people in the country are graduating with no real chance of becoming a quality lawyer.”
And to raise awareness, he is launching his scholarship program to help one deserving student each year, who fulfilled all requirements to pursue a career in law in a good school, but chose to go for another career.
However, students and potential students seem already to be aware of the situation in the legal profession and about the job prospects as compared to 2012, applications at law schools have gone down by at least 18 percent.
The situation can hardly be stressed further, when a lawyer who also teaches at law school, pays people not to pursue a career in law.