As part of the ongoing debate about the value of law school in the current market, Brittany Alzfan tells you why now is the time to go. For the flip side, check out Matt DeWilde’s take on why you shouldn’t send in that application just yet.

Now is a good time to go to law school, because things are looking up for future lawyers. Now I know most of you are skeptical, especially given the latest job statistics for the class of 2013, but just hear me out here. While the numbers put out by the National Association for Law Placement revealed a lower employment rate for the sixth year running, there was some good news: law school graduates in 2013 found more jobs overall than in 2012. That means that students who enter law school now will probably have more potential jobs at their disposal.

The huge drop in students enrolling in law schools over the past several years leaves graduates looking at a surprisingly strong job market. Let’s use the class of 2016 as an example here–39,700 students enrolled in the fall of 2013. If we take into account that about ten percent of each law school class generally drops out, then we are looking at no more than 36,000 J.D. graduates in 2016.

Compare that number to the 46,776 graduates in 2013, and we see a drop of 23 percent. With significantly less competition amongst the graduating class, graduates are far more likely to secure a decent job.

Does this mean that I’m saying that every law graduate will go on to work in the legal field right out of graduation? No, of course not. Like in every other field, some complete their degrees and pursue other things anyways. Many J.D. graduates end up pursuing careers in finance or business.

But the numbers can’t be ignored here. According to statistics put out by the American Bar Association, 32,755 graduates from last year’s class found full-time, long-term work lasting more than a year. Of those, 26,337 jobs required passing the bar, meaning that they were typical legal jobs that required a law degree. Another 4,714 students secured jobs in fields that did not require a law degree, but preferred to hire J.D.s, such as NGO organizers or congressional staffers. Lastly, 1,724 graduates ended up in jobs that were completely unrelated to the legal field.

If these numbers remain relatively steady, then we can expect that about 91 percent of the class of 2016 will find long-term, full-time employment. This is significantly higher than the 72 percent of graduates that found full-time employment last year. If we break this down further, about 73 percent of graduates will be in full-time legal positions, compared to only 58 percent last year.

This debate is pretty entrenched–some experts agree with me, others say the risk is still not worth the expensive price of a legal education. Kyle McEntee, the founder of the nonprofit Law School Transparency, said, “I do expect that the employment rates are going to improve greatly.” The issue is whether or not these job opportunities are worth the three years, and over $100,000 that it takes to graduate from law school.

Even when they do find jobs, law school graduates have to face the unfortunate fact that while starting salaries have fallen, debt is way up. Median pay right out of law school has dropped to around $62,000 a year from $72,000 in 2008. When you take inflation into account, starting salaries are actually lower than they were in 2000. On top of this, the New America Foundation estimates that the median student who borrows for law school–and most of them do borrow–finishes school with $128,000 in loans to pay back.

Yet, despite the cost of tuition and resulting debt, there is evidence that law school may be a smart financial decision in the long run. Michael Simkovic, a Seton Hall law professor, published a paper last year that showed that even for graduates at the 25th percentile of pay–such as those in jobs at small law firms or as public servants–law school was still a profitable investment, even if they spent $60,000 a year on tuition. In addition, President Obama has just announced a plan designed to alleviate student loan debt. His “Loan Forgiveness” plan is set up so that students with loans who meet certain income eligibility standards will only need to pay back 10 percent of their discretionary income for a maximum of 20 years. In some instances, if you work in public service, such as in a public defender’s job, you only need to pay back loans for 10 years. After that, the rest is forgiven. So if debt is what’s holding you back from law school, loan forgiveness might be an excellent option for you.

Now, of course, law school is not for everyone. It shouldn’t be a fallback if you don’t know what to do with the rest of your life, nor is it something that should be chosen on a whim. It’s hard work, and without passion, you probably won’t succeed. Additionally, some programs are not worth the cost. Most graduates from bottom-tier law schools will continue to have little success in the job market, just like they always have. Employers are more likely to hire a past graduate that has struggled to find a job than hire someone from a failing institution. It is important to do your research when applying, and ultimately deciding whether or not to attend, law school.

However, if you have thought it through and have decided that law school is for you, then your future is looking bright.

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Brittany Alzfan (@BrittanyAlzfan) is a student at the George Washington University majoring in Criminal Justice. She was a member of Law Street’s founding Law School Rankings team during the summer of 2014. Contact Brittany at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Penn State via Flickr]

Brittany Alzfan

Brittany Alzfan is a student at the George Washington University majoring in Criminal Justice. She was a member of Law Street’s founding Law School Rankings team during the summer of 2014. Contact Brittany at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post If You Want to Go to Law School, Now’s the Time to Apply appeared first on Law Street.

Senior federal judges can make quite a pretty penny by working as teachers or lecturers at law schools, according to the financial statements that they are required to supply each year. The National Law Journal is featuring an excellent story, to be published next week but available online now, on just how much money is made by senior judges who lecture or teach at top law schools around the country.

The highest earning senior judge this year was Senior Judge Donald Ginsburg, a DC Circuit Court Judge, who took home $277,906 teaching for NYU Law. Another DC Circuit Judge, Senior Judge Harry Edwards, took in just south of $200,000, also from NYU Law. All in all, there were five federal judges who earned at least $100,000 from outside teaching and speaking engagements.

So, what is a senior judge?

A senior judge is a federal judge. In some states, state judges who are quasi-retired are considered senior judges. In order to be a senior judge, a judge must be at least 65, and have served at least 15 years on the bench. That requirement is sliding though, for each year older than 65, they need to have served one year less on the bench. For example, a 67-year-old judge could receive senior status after 13 years of presiding.

Depending on how many cases they choose to take on, senior judges might receive the same salary as an active federal judge. If they take on less, their salary is discounted slightly, but it will never fall below what it was the year they took senior status. So those five senior judges that made $100,000 (or more) are earning that on top of the regular salary they get from being senior judges. Given that a circuit judge now makes roughly $200,000 just for that position, senior judges like Ginsburg and Edwards are doing very, very, well for themselves.

The purpose of this program is that when judges elect to take senior status, they forfeit their seat. They become a kind of “at-large” judge who can float around and take on cases when needed. The vacated seat is filled so that there are more judges to take on heavy caseloads at the federal level. Senior judges can also work with and mentor younger active judges.

Active judges do have requirements about what they can do outside of their judgeship. They are not allowed to make more than $26,955 a year outside of their federal salary — although this does exclude certain ways of earning money, such as royalties from books already published. The purpose behind the rule is to keep active judges, who certainly could be in demand to teach or lecture, focused and prevent them from becoming overworked. However, there is no such requirement for senior judges. 

Senior judges are free to make as much as they desire in their free time, in addition to whatever portion of salary they receive from taking on a case load. Which leads to positions like Ginsburg and Edwards have at NYU Law.

Whether active or senior, that sounds like a decent amount of money to me, especially for a government employee. It is more than what our members of congress get–roughly $175,000 per year. But still, some judges say that it is still much too little. For example, Chief Justice John G. Roberts has made a number of statements saying that we need to pay our judges more. He claims that the salaries have not stayed consistent with the cost of living. In 2007, he actually called the supposedly stagnant pay for judges a “constitutional crisis” in his annual report.

To be fair, judges do make less than their law school classmates who landed partnerships at big law firms. But they still are among the highest paid government employees, they (clearly) can make quite a lot once they reach retirement age, and most importantly, they have lifetime job security. No law firm can boast that kind of awesome financial security.

So if you are thinking about a new dream job, being a senior judge may not be a bad one to add to your list. If you are anything like some of the judges teaching at law schools now, you will be pretty much set for life. Although if that is not quite enough money for you, there is another kind of judgeship to check out: in my research, I found out that Judge Judy makes about $47 million a year, making her the highest paid personality on TV. So either way, go on the judge route and you should be all set!

[National Law Journal]

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Martin Bowling via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Looking to Make Money? Become a Federal Judge appeared first on Law Street.

As we all navigate tax season, money is on the mind. When you’re job searching, your finances are a major motivator. Given the time of year, I thought that it would be good to discuss navigating the financial landscape when job hunting. And how better to get into the the right frame of mind than this iconic scene from Jerry McGuire?

It’s pretty unlikely that you’ll be able to replicate Rod Tidwell’s tactics in your own job hunt and salary negotiations, so here are five things to keep in mind when you’re looking for a new job and considering your bottom line.

1. Know your worth. Research the position you’re applying for. Know the average salary and starting salary for the position. There are websites you can turn to for salary research specific to the city the position is in. It’s good to go into the interview knowing this information, even if it won’t be discussed right away.

2. Think about when and if you’d be willing to compromise. Salary is one of the most important things in the job hunting process, but it is not everything. If there is a position that doesn’t quite meet your requirement range, but it offers amazing benefits and potential for growth those are worth considering. It’s not always about the actual dollars. Factor in the total cost of working at that location by calculating things like benefits and commute.

3. Think about when and if you won’t be willing to compromise. If you’re offered a sum that is way beneath your ask as well as what your research deems appropriate, that might be the time to draw a line in the sand. If you don’t feel excited by any part of the offer, you probably won’t be excited about the position, which will just land you right back where you started.

4. Research the company. While you’re researching the salary of the position, also research the norms for the company. Not all companies fall in line with industry trends, so it’s important to know that before you get in too deep.

5. Think about how to get to where you want to be. Invest in yourself and others will believe in your. Think about your resume and portfolio as a savings account — you want to continually make deposits into it for your future. Will learning a new technology or skill push you to the next level? Absolutely.

Happy hunting!

xo The Capitalista

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Alexandra Saville (@CapitalistaBlog) is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

Alexandra Saville

Alexandra Saville is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

The post Show Me the Money! appeared first on Law Street.