Mon, May 28, 2012, 7:44 AM EDT - U.S. Markets closed for Memorial Day

A Bunch of Young Lawyers are Suing Their Law Schools Because They Don't Have Jobs

A bunch of recently graduated and unemployed lawyers are suing their law schools for false hope. 

A total of 75 alumni have filed at least 15 class-action lawsuits across the country, accusing their law schools of inflating employment and salary data to attract prospective students. 

The New York Daily News reported that graduates from the Brooklyn Law School accuse the school of fraud, saying that “attending Brooklyn Law and forking nearly $150,000 in tuition payments is a terrible investment."

The school's Web site reported employment rates of 88 to 98 percent within nine months of graduation, but the students allege these figures included students who had part-time or temporary work unrelated to the legal field, according to the Daily News.

Recent graduates from New York Law School filed a $200 million class action suit in damages for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and violations of business law.

Financial writer Flexo at Consumerism Commentary says that the goal of the lawsuits seem not to merely receive compensation, but to " effect systemic change in the education industry and associations that accredit law schools, like the American Bar Association."

He also says it'll be hard for the students to win their case, since there are many "factors that contribute to unemployment, including the overall economy, local job markets, and the effort, skills, and self-marketability of each alumnus."

DON'T MISS: 30 jobs that are vanishing in America> 

More From Business Insider

 
  • You don't know me!  •  Irvine, California  •  1 month 28 days ago
    LMAO! Well you have to admit it does take some balls to try to beat a teacher/instructor at their own game.
  • Richard  •  3 months ago
    Very funny, I call this a boomerang effect since the univ. produced a law army with no paychecks and now the army is shooting back at them ... Lol!
    • Davey 3 months ago
      haha yea! Mutiny dude...modern day pirates.
    • james g 3 months ago
      OMG That was funny.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • William P 3 months ago
      Good analogy.
  • jerrp  •  Washington, District of Columbia  •  3 months ago
    law students suing their own school, priceless!!!!
    • Katherine 3 months ago
      Best comment.
    • Griffin S 3 months ago
      They claim that forking over $150,000 for their education was a terrible investment. They clearly appear to be wrong seeing as without this knowledge and education they would be less capable of creating a class action lawsuit case -- so in reality their education gives them the opportunity for lawsuits and thus income... so they lose.
    • BC 3 months ago
      Interesting theory Griffin, but if the defendant's lawyer said that in court he'd be laughed at. They're suing because they're unable to get permanent law-related jobs with their degrees not because they got a bad education.
  • Herb  •  3 months ago
    Does anyone see the irony. If they win, the school taught them well. If they lose, the school didn't do too good of a job.
    • David 3 months ago
      Then they should sue the school for the lack luster education the recieved.
    • FB 3 months ago
      Best comment here, yes it is ironic and true.
    • Annallia Esaki 3 months ago
      It would only be ironic if they were suing on the grounds that the school did not live up to its academic responsibility. Since the suit is about the school misrepresenting employment and salary data about its graduates that is a whole nother matter.
  • Brian  •  Cary, Illinois  •  3 months ago
    college degrees are the new HS diplomas
    • bungholio 3 months ago
      the unemployment rate among people with college degrees is around 4% - make of that what you will
    • SLAYER 3 months ago
      That's because now McDonalds can hire them for cheap.
    • A Yahoo! User 3 months ago
      ...unfortunate, but true. In order to really stand out you have to have at least a Masters degree. SO don't go to college unless you're dedicating to getting in at least 6 years.
  • B.S.  •  Capitol Heights, Maryland  •  3 months ago
    This could be done for MBA students as well, even Education. Only difference is Law students get trained in "how to sue" when things don't go their way.
    • B 3 months ago
      MBA and Education majors have no problems finding jobs...most lawyers don't either..
    • Cohiba 3 months ago
      I totally agree, My sister got a MBA degree and she and several of her fellow students had problems finding jobs when they graduated. I remember talking to the husband of one of the grads who was a friend of my sister and he said that he was telling his wife to not even put the MBA down on the applications because he thought it was scaring employers. My sister had to take a temp job for about a year before she got hired full time. Life is good for her now but it took a very long time and she told me she didn't put out hundreds of applications she sent out thousands.
    • Lilion 3 months ago
      Actually, legal jobs are pretty darn hard to find anymore. There are simply too many lawyers for the market. I know, I'm a lawyer of 25 years experience, working in government. I like my job, but the pay certainly isn't much. You spend $100K+ on a degree and we start new attorneys at around $30K. I've been telling college kids for years, "Don't be a lawyer! Pick a different field." Not only is it hard to find work but let's face it, everyone hates lawyers.
  • Better than you  •  3 months ago
    Sharks eating sharks ... oh the irony!
  • haha  •  Fayetteville, North Carolina  •  3 months ago
    At least they are getting to use their education for the first time. I bet the colleges are hopping they didn't teach them so well now...
  • Johnny J  •  3 months ago
    Well, they must have received something beneficial, their first act was to sue someone over their choice.
  • Here's_an_idea  •  Seattle, Washington  •  3 months ago
    Well, if attorneys can do that, I'd like to sue my (PAST) investment guy for losing all my money!!
  • Chris  •  Marcellus, Michigan  •  3 months ago
    This is a textbook definition of irony....The only thing that would complete this joke is if they lose the case....that would pretty much explain everything...
  • Stephen  •  3 months ago
    It's actually kind of funny, train these guys to sue people, and so they sue the people that trained them, kind of why lawyers don't eat shark meat.. out of professional courtesy
  • SamE  •  3 months ago
    What kind of lawyers are they if they didn't have the common sense to do a little investigating into their career choice before the committing to the choice. Due diligence is number one for a lawyer.
  • display name  •  3 months ago
    WHY DONT sharks eat lawyers??? profesional courtesy.
  • Pilot1  •  Bethesda, Maryland  •  3 months ago
    Our corporate lawyer told me law school grads with political science degrees are a dime a dozen. If a new grad comes to them who acutaly had a job prior to law school such as a nurse, engineer, policeman ect. they hired them on the spot for higher salaries. They considered people like these whiners just cannon fodder.
  • luvakgal  •  3 months ago
    What's a bus full of lawyers going off a cliff with one seat empty?

    A crying shame.
  • Mongo  •  Saratoga Springs, New York  •  3 months ago
    Duh, what ever happened to opening up your own practice???? If they are Lawyers, that means they learned enough to pass the Bar, which means their Law Schools fullfilled their obligation to educate. Why don't the just sue their parents for raising stupid children????
  • Wyliecoyote  •  3 months ago
    Oh what irony, turning on their own to feed.
  • Big Urn  •  Tipp City, Ohio  •  3 months ago
    I love it....what's the first thing these new lawyers do? Sue the guys that gave them the ability to sue!!!! BWHAHAHAHAHA. And as far as a bad investment- 150k in school IS a not a garantee of work....it's a gamble like anything else. Betcha these students were not in the top 10% of thier graduating class....
  • jackiek  •  3 months ago
    A lot of schools not only give false hope but a sense of entitlement to their spoiled graduates.
 
Recent Quotes
Symbol Price Change % Chg 
Your most recently viewed tickers will automatically show up here if you type a ticker in the "Enter symbol/company" at the bottom of this module.
You need to enable your browser cookies to view your most recent quotes.
 
Sign-in to view quotes in your portfolios.

Trading Center

Yahoo! Finance on Facebook

  YAHOO! FINANCE ON TWITTER