National Jurist - November 2007 - (Page 26)

earns only $80,000. After taxes, $1,000 for the monthly loan payments and $3,300 for rent, food, utilities and transportation, and they are left in the negative by as much as $633 each month. “These graduates are walking around having no fun,” Hanson said. One reason students struggle with debt is the expectations they bring to law school and the profession, Leipold said. Although there are jobs available at larger law firms, not every student is going to land one of them. “These kids are competitive, “Leipold said. “They’ve been at the top [academically] for so many years that they assume they’ll always be at the top.” Another issue is career choice. Some students may find themselves attracted to public-sector jobs, which tend to pay less than the median. Others may want to stay close to home and avoid urban areas like New York, Los Angeles or Washington D.C., where the starting salaries tend to be among the highest in the nation. As a result, their earning potential may be smaller than anticipated, resulting in a smaller income and the same large bills as their classmates. Plus, a lawyer’s life is not necessarily for everyone. A student may feel like they’re working as hard as they can, not realizing how many more hours they’re going to have to put in as first-year associates, Hanson said. “They’re going to be working 70-hour weeks,” Hanson said. “That’s 14 hours a day, five days a week. That’s 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. nonstop. That grows onerous pretty quickly. They soon recognize that although the job pays them well, it takes a real toll on their lives. “An individual in that position may feel miserable and within a few years move on to something more manageable in terms of the work load, but they’ll also take a sizable cut in pay,” Hanson said. “And they’ll still have that debt to pay. Maybe they were already paying it down, but it’s still there.” Debt solutions Many students simply do not have the means to pay for school without incurring major debt along the road. “If students are borrowing money, they’re really living off their future income,” Hanson said. “You’re making a good investment, but it takes risk and sacrifice. … it’s not like a house or car. When you get buyer’s remorse with those purchases, you can sell them. You have nothing to sell [when you borrow to pay for an education]. You just have to work it out.” Hanson, who has lobbied for more financial education for lawyers-to-be, points to a figure he refers to as a student’s debt burden. He defines the term as the ratio of monthly loan payment to an individual’s total gross monthly income. This effectively measures the impact of debt on income and a graduate’s ability to afford other expenses, such as housing, utilities, food, clothing and other basics. THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Columbus School of Law WASHINGTON, D.C. Master of Laws, LL.M., Degree Program Banking and Commercial Law • Communications Law Securities Law • Estate Planning Comparative and International Law • Jurisprudence For further information, visit our Web site: http://law.cua.edu/llm/ or contact the Oﬃce of Admissions at 202-319-5151. International applications due March 1, 2008 Domestic applications due July 1, 2008 Law schools step up to the debt challenge Some law schools are starting to recognize the debt dilemma facing their graduates. But only a few offer debt education designed to help students incur less debt while in school. Susan Gross of NYLS says if you can successfully grab students as they step in the door, a school is heading in the right direction. Beginning with first-year orientation, law students at NYLS are getting educated with sessions on managing costs in law school. After their first year, 26 THE NATIONAL JURIST November 2007 http://www.law.miami.edu http://www.law.miami.edu http://law.cua.edu/llm/ http://law.cua.edu/llm/

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of National Jurist - November 2007

National Jurist - November 2007 Contents Disturbing the Peace For the Record Blogs: The Death-knell for Law Reviews? Chemerinsky Heads UC-Irvine Ave Maria Dispute Raises ABA Inquiry John Marshall Establishes Veterans Clinic The Firm Report The Paper Chase Chronicles Law School Rankings at Math's Mercy Academic Freedom Called into Question St. Thomas Students Choose ‘Quality of Life’ Experience The Hidden Debt Crisis The Global Frontier International Education has to be a Part of Any Legal Education Employment Defender Career Hotline Off the Bench

National Jurist - November 2007

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