Summary: The “Life After Law School” pilot study examines the satisfaction levels of 7,000 recent law grads at seven law schools in the Southeast.
A new study by Gallup with the Access Group Center for Research & Policy Analysis asked 7,000 law school graduates from seven law schools about their satisfaction from law school. The pilot study determined that the decision to go to law school has declined in overall fulfillment.
The issue of finding employment after graduation is one of the biggest problems that students face. The study found that 38 percent of recent graduates had a decent job lined up for after graduation and only 20 percent strongly agreeing that the cost of law school was worth it.
The percentage of recent graduates with a “good job” after graduation was the highest in the 1960s at 70 percent and has declined ever since. This trend is similar in the measurement of satisfaction. Between 1960 and 1979 the percentage of graduates that strongly agreed that the cost of their law degree was worth it was at 75 percent. The number has dropped since with it being at 50 percent between 1980 and 1999 and at 20 percent between 2000 and 2015.
Other findings from the study include the average amount of loans obtained by students at the surveyed schools and the percentage of recent graduates that are engaged at work.
The seven surveyed law schools were Elon Law, Campbell Law School, Mississippi College School of Law, Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law, Vanderbilt Law School, and University of Richmond School of Law.
Photo: nationallawjournal.com