New Law Grads Find J.D. Hurts More Than Helps

Before entering law school, a future attorney’s father assured him that “You can do anything with a law degree.” One law degree later and the verdict is in: “My dad isn’t an attorney. But now I am, and let me assure you: My dad didn’t know what he was talking about,” attorney Jim Saksa writes in Slate. With the J.D. unemployment rate after graduation actually higher than that of non-lawyers, debt hovering around $100,000 and a mere 18 percent professional favorability rating with society at large, the benefits for attending law school at this point are meagre, Saksa says, and when law school grads look for work outside the legal field, their degree may actually work against them with hiring managers.