Matt Leichter

September 07, 2012 | The American Lawyer

Two of the American Bar Association's more recently accredited law schools, the University of La Verne and UC-Irvine, justify obtaining accreditation on different grounds, but neither is persuasive, and both ensure that either their own graduates or graduates from other law schools will wind up unemployed.

By Matt Leichter

9 minute read

July 25, 2013 | The American Lawyer

Media outlets are devoting significant coverage to a new paper that calculates substantial financial benefits to obtaining a law degree in a way that justifies enrollment and contradicts law school critics' warnings. But the hyped numbers conceal the authors' paper-thin theory about why law school increases earnings—and in no way undermine the arguments of legal education reformers.

By Matt Leichter

9 minute read

July 03, 2012 | The American Lawyer

Comparing application and matriculation numbers between law schools produces two unexpected findings: Law school application growth has varied greatly by region, and many law schools aren't as popular with their accepted applicants as the reputations of those schools would have us believe.

By Matt Leichter

8 minute read

March 06, 2013 | The American Lawyer

A recent New York Times article examining the market for veterinarians' services raises the question: How is the legal industry faring? New government data show that—in a significant downward revision to previous estimates—demand for lawyers' work has actually been shrinking rather than growing.

By Matt Leichter

6 minute read

April 19, 2012 | The American Lawyer

Citing recent news that fewer high-scoring LSAT takers are applying to law school, many observers have claimed that it's "smarter" people who are steering clear. Given that older applicants tend not to do as well on the test, it's more likely that young people are the ones opting out.

By Matt Leichter

9 minute read

December 22, 2011 | The American Lawyer

By Matt Leichter

9 minute read

July 11, 2013 | The American Lawyer

Reports of underemployed lawyers have not escaped the attention of state bar authorities. Unfortunately, the task forces created by several bar groups have, with few exceptions, produced inadequate proposals based on shaky reasoning.

By Matt Leichter

8 minute read

September 03, 2013 | Law.com

With fewer than 60,000 people applying to enter law school this fall, one would think tuition prices would drop to reflect the decreased demand. But things work differently than one might expect in the uncompetitive legal education market.

By Matt Leichter

9 minute read

December 10, 2012 | The American Lawyer

One law school dean's spirited defense of his graduates' employment outcomes suggests that no one understands what many of the terms used in the ABA's graduate employment questionnaire mean in practice. Thankfully, statistical tools can help clarify the difference between those terms' stated definitions and what they mean in reality.

By Matt Leichter

9 minute read

March 02, 2012 | The American Lawyer

By Matt Leichter

8 minute read