Generation J.D.

In my last post, I encapsulated the 2011 debate regarding the maintenance of minorities within law firms. It was a grim picture with depressing numbers.

After the recession in 2008, it appeared law firms planned to overhaul longstanding systems, such as lockstep and summer associate programs. However, as we find ourselves on the doorstep of 2012, diversity programs have not seemed to be successful in increasing the diversity numbers within law firms.

This is not an issue specific to law firms, though. The percentage of minority lawyers compared to the overall lawyer population has hovered around 10 percent for almost a decade. In a conference hosted by the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT), the consensus by law deans, admissions officers and pre-law counselors is counselors and admissions officers need to do a better job of identifying promising minority applicants, guiding them through the often intimidating application process and ensuring they graduate.

More pipeline programs need to be developed as part of the solution so pre-law advising can bridge the racial gap at law schools by supporting minority students in their efforts to gain admission to law schools. While most law school applicants kill themselves trying to gain acceptance into institutions at the top of the U.S. News & World Report rankings, these pipeline programs can also help minority students identify other law schools that could be more in tune with their professional goals post-graduation.

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I had a great clinic experience in law school. I participated in a consumer protection clinic which was both extremely relevant and something that I’m very interested in. But I have heard varying opinions about clinics.

On the one hand, students have the opportunity to gain a great deal from clinic work by making connections, networking and gaining practical experience to jump-start their careers.

Of course, not every student lands a job through a clinic, and not all employers take clinical experience into account in the hiring process. Questions about the motives of clinic work are often raised; some view student attorneys in the same vein as research assistants, working on projects that advance a professor’s political agenda or research project.

And, as we’ve learned recently in Maryland, issues also arise when law schools receiving state funding file law suits that are considered by many to be against the better interests of the state. The University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic has drawn criticism about a lawsuit it filed against Perdue Farms and a chicken farming-family on the Eastern Shore, alleging violations of environmental regulations and polluting of the Chesapeake Bay.

Gov. Martin O’Malley came out recently against the litigation, calling it a waste of taxpayer money. The Hudson family, one of the defendants, has called the allegations false and warns it will lose its farm and livelihood should the law school prevail.

Proponents of the lawsuit say that it champions the causes of those people that can’t afford lawyers. But is any law school clinic representing the Hudsons?

What do you think about this case and the academic freedom currently given to law school clinics? Should the lawsuits filed by clinics receive greater scrutiny or is the Hudson’s plight just an unfortunate — but legitimate — outcome of our justice system?

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It looks like the lender who provided me with the financial opportunity to complete law school has been squeezed out of the game.

Access Group Inc. said last month it would no longer lend to new students and is laying off most of its staff, according to the National Law Journal. In its early years, Access provided student loans to 75-to-80 percent of law students, and recently was still providing approximately $850 million in loans to 25,000-to-30,000 law students.

But Access — as well as numerous other student loan lenders — have fallen victim to the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which made the U.S. Department of Education the sole provider of federally-guaranteed student loans.

In 2006, the government created Graduate PLUS loans, which allow students to borrow the full amount of the costs of their graduate education with federally-guaranteed loans. With the ever-tightening restrictions in private lending after 2008, this provides only one outlet for post-baccalaureate students to pursue graduate school using student loans to fund their education.

Doesn’t seem like too big of a deal, right? After all, it’s not like the government is eliminating the ability to borrow any money for graduate school. However, when reviewing my own, very lengthy Access account statement, I noticed that the interest rate on my Graduate PLUS loans is the worst out of all the different loan types (Subsidized Stafford, Unsubsidized Stafford, and Private) that I used.

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As a Baltimore-based recruiter, I see people all the time who want to make the transition here from Washington. They’re either tired of the commute or want a different quality of life.

And while both cities offer great opportunities for legal professionals, there are definite differences between the two legal markets.

For some people, Baltimore just isn’t going to cut it.  When I was a tour guide at the University of Maryland School of Law, there was more than one prospective student who said that they applied thinking the school was in College Park. These students weren’t sold on the idea of going to school in Baltimore.

Despite my love of Charm City, I do see their point. Washington has more large firms to offer, and D.C. is often viewed as more metropolitan; there’s more to do, you can rely completely on public transportation and the city draws transplants from all over the county.

But the transition from D.C. to Baltimore can be really difficult to make. Washington has thriving practice areas Baltimore really doesn’t have: immigration, intellectual property and defense contracting. There are also more opportunities to work with the government and nonprofits in the D.C. area. Not to mention salaries in Washington can be up to 20 percent higher than in Baltimore, although the cost of living in Baltimore is much lower. Baltimore law firms could be hesitant to hire someone if they think they are really set on D.C.

For new law school graduates, it’s important to think about where you want to live, what you want to practice and how those two things are going to meld together. Law schools offer lots of opportunities to work in different cities and practice areas while in still in school through internships, externships and law clerk positions. This is a great way to figure out what you want to do without the commitment.

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What if you could graduate from law school with a guaranteed job at a law firm, and this law firm promised to do its best to groom and train you from Year 1 through your first years as a junior associate?

The pay would not be commensurate with a Big Law salary, but you would get the experience necessary to move forward successfully in your career. In our current economy, I can’t think of too many unemployed law grads who would turn an offer down.

This is the proposal set forth by several law schools, including Brooklyn Law School and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law: that law schools could open independently-operated law firms for recent graduates.

In an article slated for publication in the South Carolina Law Review, Brooklyn’s Bradley Borden and Maryland’s Robert Rhee discuss the concept of a law school “firm” akin to the teaching hospital learning experience for medical students. The law firm would be affiliated with the law school, but would remain an independent entity through professional management and revenue generation. Participation in a firm that functions like a real law firm would provide much better training than clinics offer as part of the curriculum for credit.

Salaries would be similar to the numbers offered in public interest positions to allow for more focus on training and education versus client billable hours, as well as provide much-needed legal representation to those below the poverty level. Another benefit to a law firm affiliated with a law school is that it would combat the growing trend of clients balking at paying bills connected to junior associate work. (See a Wall Street Journal blog post about the “value” of first-year associates.)

What are your thoughts? Would a law school-affiliated law firm relieve some of the deficiencies in junior attorney training and education within actual law firms? Would a law school-affiliated law firm operate more successfully than a clinic for credit in providing new attorneys with practical experience? How would this type of position compare to a judicial clerkship?

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Earlier this week, as I watched news footage of scores of people dressed as zombies protesting on Wall Street, I couldn’t help but think, “What a bunch of looney tunes.” I found it hard to take seriously a protest that seemingly lacked any focus.

But as the Occupy Wall Street movement gained more news coverage and the number of participants grew, I decided not to write it off as just another extreme, inchoate grassroots movement.

An interview on NPR with a 25-year-old unemployed college graduate in particular hit home: he expressed serious concern about his ability to make good on the student loan debt he had racked up. I began to identify with the 99%.

A sister movement with a narrower agenda — Occupy Colleges — has sprung up, concerned with mounting student loan debt and a dearth of employment upon graduation. While these concerns are not new, the Occupy Wall Street movement has put them on the front page of newspapers nationwide. Americans, especially young, educated Americans, are angry and they’re coming out in droves to show it.

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