For those who dream of becoming lawyers, the path to that destination has become tougher and riskier than ever before. Over the past several decades, law school has become more expensive, while the job market has become increasingly saturated with lawyers. Law students are expected to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars, and three extra years in a classroom, for an education that has become increasingly less fruitful in its payoff, which is certainly an odd trend. For some, the money, time and rigor are worthwhile obstacles in the end. Yet for many, even those most passionate about the legal profession, the sacrifices law schools ask of their students make attaining a law degree just too arduous.This is precisely why the study of law should be formulated into its own undergraduate program, both here at the University and in other institutions across the nation.
For instance, universities in Holland — among other countries — offer a legal studies program as part of a typical bachelor's education. At age 22, when most American college graduates are gearing up to take their LSAT with hopes of simply getting accepted to law school, Dutch students are suiting up and entering the professional world of law.
Creating an undergraduate school of law would make the decision to attain a law degree less financially risky. The average debt held by law school graduates is exorbitant, as law students graduate, on average, owing between $84,000 and $122,000 in loans, depending on the law school. Most shockingly, this figure does not take into account undergraduate debt, which burdens around 70 percent of all college graduates, or opportunity cost, which would be about $150,000 if a student were making the University’s median graduate salary over three years.
While creating this program would have serious financial benefits for students, it would not detract from the educational curricula found in current law school programs. Take, for instance, the degree requirements set by the University’s Law School. The school requires that a number of crucial classes be taken the first year, such as Contracts, Torts, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Civil Procedure, Property and Legal Research. These courses are essential to a legal education, and thus should not be eliminated. Yet, students only need to take these classes their first year; so then, what are they paying $100,000 for during their next two years of law school?
The Law School website claims "after first-year course requirements are met, students can choose from a range of course options." So essentially, students are paying $100,000 for electives. While these courses might be thought-provoking and helpful for determining a future legal specialization, are they really worth it? Another possible solution would involve a curriculum similar to that of the Batten or Commerce Schools. Prospective students must apply to these schools during their second year after fulfilling their College requirements. Then upon being accepted, these schools require their students to take core degree classes during their third year, and related electives during their fourth year, while still paying undergraduate tuition.
An undergraduate school of law could look exactly the same. After being accepted into the program during their second year, students could take essential law classes during their third year, and valuable electives during their fourth year. This curriculum would effectively give law students the foundational education they need to be successful lawyers, as well as an entire year of courses with which they could further explore their own areas of legal interest. Like students at the other two schools, law students would only be paying for undergraduate tuition.
Ideally, the goal of an undergraduate law school would be to give the law student the skills and means necessary to pass a state bar exam, secure a job and excel in the legal profession. Whether a curriculum follows the European open-access model or the Batten and Commerce School models, there is nothing that suggests current law school programs are superior to these hypothetical undergraduates schools of law in terms of their ability to prepare and educate their students. Perhaps, when enough prospective lawyers choose not to jeopardize their financial futures by attending law school, undergraduate law schools will no longer be hypothetical.
Jesse Berman is a Viewpoint writer.
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