Who is Loyola 2L? The true value of a law degree

Just an observation of something quirky in the law blogosphere. After having spent a bit of time wading through the blawgs out there, I've started to notice that the poster "Loyola 2L" seems to be omnipresent. While I'm not certain about it's origin, it seems to be a running gag. The gist of it is that they are law students who are not from a top tier college who can't find work.

They complain that they feel deceived by the perception that there are plenty of well paying opportunities available for lawyers.

"University of Iowa sociologist Michael Sauder, who has interviewed more than 120 law professors and administrators for his rankings research, heard examples of alumni taxi drivers who are “employed” for the purposes of U.S. News rankings." American Lawyer (June 1, 07)

Basically, these guys are ticked off about the huge investment of time and money in a legal education that they don't think will pay off, and the way that they feel the law school misled them with false hope.

A little sad. But some posts are funny, and they do raise a legitimate question: are the rewards of a legal degree overstated by grad schools?


In this great post on Empirical Legal Studies, we see a chart showing the distribution of legal salaries.

It is described as a classic example of a 'bimodal distribution'. You see two peaks, representing the fact that, of the full-time salaries for all members of the Class of 2006:

" Over a quarter (27.5%) make between $40k-$55k per year, and another quarter (27.8%) have an annual salary of $100K plus. "

ELS note that making $40-55k won't be enough to pay down the $85 in student debt, making getting a JD "a very risky financial proposition".

But, "[o]n the other hand, if you are Georgetown, NYU, Northwestern, Harvard, Columbia, et al., [this] current model works just fine."

You can't help but feel a little sympathy for those who have made it through law school, bar exams etc. and are still unsure whether the investment will pay off... perhaps there needs to be greater 'consumer protection' or at least more transparent accountability when it comes to student recruitment at these law schools?

To see more examples of Loyola 2L posts, check the comments section of WSJ Law Blog posts or the comments in this example from the NY Observer.

Also, on a similar theme http://temporaryattorney.blogspot.com/