"The Law School Bubble: How Long Will It Last If Law Grads Can’t Pay Bills?"

I have been critical of the American Bar Association, namely its propensity to promote the federal and international jurisdictions at the expense of local communities. Here, however, the ABA is saying about our law schools: "Houston, we have a problem."

Just as the Catholic Church's crises are precipitated by problems in the priesthood, problems in the profession of law inevitably infect much of American culture. Overspecialized, indebted, atomistic, utilitarian analysts having no grounding in natural law are not a strong force to protect the weak from oppressors, prosecutors, debt collectors, government regulators, or litigious individuals. Without young independent lawyers, i.e., lawyers free of anchor-chain debt now common, it is much harder to protect citizens from stupid and corrupted legislation, untempered agencies, grasping executives, and capricious courts.

We would do better to have a year of law school followed by one-year apprenticeships in public agencies, courts, and private practice and completed by one semester of advanced academic studies and a final semester of mentored lawyering with a specific purpose. Of course, to do these things would benefit the students and public at the expense of the tenured law faculties and the behemoth universities. Billions of dollars have been invested under the assumption that increasing enrollments of law students borrowing more than $100,000 each would pay the bills. As the article says, what cannot go on- won't.