In the current economic climate, it is incredibly hard for young people to get proper experience in their desired fields. For law students, there are little-to-no options when it comes to receiving training and being mentored by professionals in their chosen specialties. On the other end of the spectrum, many Americans cannot afford costly legal services for even basic civil court proceedings. In an effort to innovate and grow their programs, law schools across the country are attacking both these problems by running legal incubators to better train law students and provide low-cost services to low-income Americans.

Incubators: Training Law Students

The Incubator for Justice, created at the City University of New York, has been successful in preparing recent graduates to enter the work force. Over 40 law schools throughout the United States have now begun offering select students the opportunity to participate in one of these prestigious programs, including major schools such as Rutgers School of Law, the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, and the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. Schools create incubators usually by implementing small law firms on their campuses or in nearby cities in which the students take on a large amount of cases for very little pay.

Most other professions offer graduates a chance to hone their skills under the guidance of experienced professionals. Medical students do internships and residencies, and dentists participate in a similar training program, as do most workers of the medical field. These incubator programs give new lawyers the chance to work under and be led by experienced lawyers and retired judges in certain programs. These programs provide recent law school graduates with many of the tools they need to join a prominent law firm upon completion, continue working toward a legal aid career, or possibly begin their own firm in the future.

Law students often are able to participate in clinics and externships offered through their schools, but this is still not enough training. Incubators are similar to the aforementioned opportunities, although they allow participants to take on a much more extensive caseload. Once law students graduate, they are expected to dive right into the field, although this is very difficult to do when they have not first been given the proper instruction and tools.

Incubators: Bringing Legal Services to the Masses

These programs help not only law school graduates, but also the public. One of the biggest problems in the United States is the lack of affordable legal services, which is needed by many Americans. People of lower incomes often cannot afford legal services due to the prohibitive hourly cost of a lawyer’s time. An incubator program charges $75 or less an hour in most cases, and sometimes they offer their services pro bono.

Millions of Americans lack proper legal representation, especially in cases that could completely change their lives. This is due to the high price of lawyers, how most are concentrated only in highly populated areas, and few can or want to take on work that isn’t very profitable. Many people also end up not being represented because they are rejected when they apply for civil legal aid. It was found that in 70 to 98 percent of the cases brought to civil court in the United States, one or both parties did not have a lawyer present to represent them. There are many programs already established throughout the country that are dedicated to providing free or low-cost legal services to people of low income, although most have very few resources available and few lawyers willing to take on the extra–sometimes menial–work. Given how many law school graduates are unable to find work in the field, more should be encouraged to do this type of work.

One of the most difficult aspects of starting and running an incubator program is finding the proper funds to support it. Many of the schools allocate funds for them, although this is not always enough to run them. The Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University has been running a program that is financed by multiple sources, such as alumni donations and private funds. Michigan State University offers an innovative approach to its program by partnering with government organizations, nonprofits, and other university departments so that participants can engage and practice in a wide variety of subjects. These programs, as well as many others, seem to be thriving, as they have given students genuine experience and have provided legal aid to those who need it most.

It is widely said that it is easier to get into law school these days due to far fewer people applying and enrolling. The current job market for lawyers is abysmal, and so these programs could be instrumental in helping graduates begin prosperous careers. Only 40 percent of law school graduates are employees at law firms, and 20 percent hold jobs that don’t even require a law degree. Considering how astronomically high the average debt of most law school graduates is, it is imperative that they start their careers off on the right foot so that they can pay off this debt and achieve success.

Toni Keddell

Toni Keddell is a member of the University of Maryland Class of 2017 and a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Toni at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Law School Incubators Are Attacking These Two Major Problems in America appeared first on Law Street.

If you’re applying to law school, chances are there may be a smaller number of spots available in your class.

For the past several years, many law schools around the country have decreased the number of students admitted into JD programs, and the downsizing trend is only continuing. The University of Buffalo‘s Law School has recently announced that they will be shrinking the number of incoming 1-L’s from 225-200 to 200-180. The Dean of the school, Makau Mutua, stated that this move is necessary in order to maintain the school’s standards for its admitted students. The University of Buffalo Law School is by no means the only school that has made this decision. Other institutions such as Appalachian Law School, New England Law, and many more have also cut their class sizes. In total, last year 51% of law schools made a decision to downsize.

And it’s not just class sizes that are being cut: many schools are also trying to decrease the size of their faculty. The University of Buffalo’s Law School, for example, is beginning to offer retirement benefits to professors over 55, in order to decrease their faculty without having layoffs.

What is really interesting is that this trend has even reached the top tier schools. Last year, Northwestern University‘s School of Law declared it would decrease their class sizes by ten percent. It’s clear that this trend is affecting law schools in general, not just lower tier schools, which means that the factors that could be causing the downsizing of law schools are more universal in nature.

So what are some possible reasons that explain why law schools are choosing to downsize?

1. The number of individuals applying for Law School is decreasing.

The American Bar Association‘s report on the number of students enrolled in ABA accredited law schools show that the trend of declined enrollment in law school is continuing. 39,675 full and part time students enrolled in law school in the fall of 2013. This number marks an 11% decrease from 2012 and a 24% decrease from 2010, the highest year of enrollment. Data from last October also shows that the number of LSAT takers are also lower than in years past, and in fact the amount of individuals who took the LSAT decreased by 11% from the previous year. The number of LSAT takers has continued to decrease since the peak of administered tests four years ago.

With less overall students taking the LSAT and applying to law school, it is likely that there are less students applying that fit the credentials for specific schools. And with less students choosing to pursue a legal education and smaller class size, law schools do not have enough funding to maintain the amount of professors on their faculty and courses offered as in previous times.

2. There are still too many lawyers on the job market.

With an overcrowded job market for lawyers, less people are enrolling in law school, which contributes to many schools’ decision to downsize. According to the American Bar Association, only around 55% of all 2012 graduates found full-time legal work six months after graduation. There is possibility that more are employed in other kinds of work, but those jobs do not require their JD degree (that they spend so much time and money pursuing).

Adding to the problem of too many lawyers, the number of legal jobs also seems to be decreasing. Wharton professor Richard Shell explains that “Law firms — which have been the traditional employers — are having to revise their compensation and fee practices because clients are demanding more fixed price contracts and less billable hours.” Law firms have been one of the main sources of employment for legal grads, and if law firms are hiring less people, there will be more unemployed lawyers.

3. Schools are choosing quality over quantity.

Law schools don’t want to keep the same class sizes as in previous years if it means having to lower their standards of admission. Schools don’t want to admit applicants that would not have been as qualified in previous years simply to fill all vacant spots in their classes. This could potentially result in the law school receiving a lower rank, which is certainly undesirable.

Not only do law schools want to maintain the quality of their students, but they also strive to keep the quality of education. For example, Appalachian Law School explained that in deciding to downsize, the school wanted to maintain a 12 to 1 student to faculty ratio, something the school considers unique among other institutions.

With decreasing applicants, an overcrowded job market for lawyers, and the aim to maintain quality, it is no wonder that many law schools are making the hard decision to downsize. It will be interesting to see whether and how long this trend continues.

 [Bizjournals] [Wharton] [ABA] [ABA Journal] [Wall Street Journal] [Register-Herald]

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Sarah Helden (@shelden430)

Sarah Helden

Sarah Helden is a graduate of The George Washington University and a student at the London School of Economics. She was formerly an intern at Law Street Media. Contact Sarah at staff@LawStreetmedia.com.

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