Law School Admission “Brutal This Year”

WSJ reports the competition to get into law school is “brutal this year.” The number of applicants rose 20.5% for the top 200 US law schools. Why? The top reasons include:

1. Desire for economic stability. Applicants believe that a career in law seems secure in an uncertain market. “Law school applications often rise during recessions, such as in 2008 and 2009, or in the midst of a tough job market, as in 2021.” The article speculates applicants believe law is more immune to AI and appreciate the high salary of top firms (first years make $225K).
2. Desire for political change. “Election years commonly arouse more law-school interest. Some cite a second ‘Trump bump’ as applicants follow high-profile legal battles, including over immigration and diversity policies.”
3. Change in LSATs. More students applied now that the dreaded logic game section was just dropped. Competition has increased dramatically to get into top schools. For example Georgetown received 14,000 applications for 650 spots, and has three tiers of waitlists. The University of Michigan Law School received a record-setting 8,900 applications for 320 spots, the highest in 166 years.

Do I think going to law school is a good bet now? Not necessarily. While lawyers are needed to advise on and battle over new technology and changing regulatory regimes, very few actually land top firm jobs. Then it’s never easy to transition from firms to top in-house jobs. And now the jury is out whether AI will displace a large number of junior lawyers.