There's no use trying to time enrollment in law school so you'll graduate into a strong job market—the four-year lag is simply too long to allow an accurate economic forecast, new academic research suggests.

Moreover, whether someone enters the profession in boom times or recession doesn't significantly affect long-term earnings. Neither does graduating with a large versus a small cohort of students.

Those are the key findings of “Timing Law School,” a draft paper by Seton Hall University School of Law professor Michael Simkovic and Rutgers Business School professor Frank McIntyre.