LIES! Watch Out, Kansas City! Bull Alert!

I saw this headline ("Study: Life After Law School Gets Tougher") and was happy--over the moon! As you know, more news coverage is good news. And then I read on and somehow this reporter skews the news into something positive. I took Journalism in college, and I could hear my professor saying: "Journalism 101: Who, What, When, Where, Why?" What's up with dropping your uneducated opinion into a news story, Steve Vockrodt???

So, although the title sounds accurate, the article says...

Here are a few survey findings that stick out from NALP’s report:
• Between 3,200 and 3,700 graduates in 2009 had their start dates at law firms deferred past Dec. 1. The usual start date is around September.
• About 25 percent of respondents said their jobs were temporary, although that figure includes judicial clerkships.
• Many of those who did find jobs weren’t happy with them — about 22 percent of 2009 graduates were looking for a different job, double what the figure was in 2000.
If those figures seem grim, there’s one that contradicts the perception of an entirely ugly job market. The overall employment rate for 2009 law school graduates was 88 percent, down just a bit from the recent high of nearly 92 percent in 2007.That’s not bad, but it’s clear that the dynamic of employment options has changed and may continue to change during the next couple of years.

“Members of this graduating class were more likely to be working part-time, working in a temporary job, working in a job that does not require a JD, working as a solo practitioner or working but still looking for another job than their peers who graduated in the classes before them,” says James Leipold, NALP’s executive director.

What's wrong with this picture, folks? Surely, you've read the scam blogs long enough to say, right??? I'll tell you what's wrong. 88 percent of law graduates are employed, OF THE PEOPLE THAT REPORTED.

Yep, the shame factor is not computed into the NALP survey and certainly not mentioned by this reporter. What's the shame factor? It's the same thing that keeps me from revealing my identity to the world, or any of us for this matter (except Nando and L4L). It's the same thing that keeps all of us from passing out pamphlets in front of our alma mater. It's the reason why you comment anonymously. So, if you adjust that 88% downward, for the number of graduates that are too ashamed to tell their law school that they are STILL unemployed--we're looking at something like 50%. If you adjust that figure, by taking out the 10% or so that are employed--in temporary document review--we're at 40%.

Hang in there, law school grads!

Suck it, Steve!

(written by Angel, posted by HardKnocks)