| In many ways, law schools are trade schools. | | | | after the September 10th deadline for responses. |
| While law schools put out aggregate breakdowns, | | | | However, the National Law Journal reports, only 11 |
| they do not provide specifics on an individual | | | | schools met the deadline, out of which only three |
| graduate's job placement and salary. The dearth | | | | - American University Washington College of Law, |
| of official hiring and salary data on each graduate | | | | University of Michigan Law School and Vanderbilt |
| begs the question: do prospective students really | | | | University Law School - said they were |
| know what they are getting into in terms of | | | | considering releasing the requested information. |
| "return on investment" when they commit to a | | | | Some universities declined to respond citing |
| particular school? | | | | violation of student privacy. Ave Maria School of |
| All of that may change soon. | | | | Law is one of the first schools that agreed to |
| In July, the Law School Transparency, a new | | | | provide the data. |
| non-profit organization, sought information from | | | | Northwestern, while declining to comply with LST's |
| 199 ABA-accredited schools on each law graduate. | | | | request, indicated that recently asked for similar |
| The LST requested the schools to provide | | | | employment-related information. Apparently, |
| detailed job list (employer type, employer name, | | | | Forbes will use responses to its survey for the |
| position, credentials, full-time / part-time, office | | | | new law school rankings list. |
| location, salary source, journal) and salary list | | | | If not anything, this push towards presenting |
| (employer type, office location, full-time/part-time, | | | | individual metrics rather than overall statistics |
| salary). The LST explains: "This website aims to | | | | begins a dialogue on an important issue. Perhaps in |
| become a clearinghouse for employment data | | | | light of the recent economic downturn and the |
| from ABA-approved law schools." | | | | substantial costs of legal education, clarity on law |
| The LST will post the results on its website, as | | | | colleges' job results and graduates' starting salaries |
| well as correspondence from schools resulting | | | | is more important than ever before. What do you |
| from the group's request for data, within 60 days | | | | think? |