Study Offers a New Test of Potential Lawyers

New York Times ^ | March 10, 2009 | Jonathan D. Glater

[thefrankbaum]

Kind of. Economically speaking. There are large barriers to entry to become a lawyer; you must (in almost every state) earn a JD from an accredited institution before you are allowed to sit for the bar exam. In order to receive that degree, you are required to spend anywhere from $30,000 to $120,000 and 3 to 4 years of your life. To pay those funds back, you, as a lawyer, need to charge exorbitant fees. In order to make those fees feasible, legislatures (full of lawyers) have created the barriers to new entrants into the field. This has the same effect as a price floor, as the demand for lawyers outstrips the supply, thus justifying huge fees.

Now, opening the bar to a much wider pool of applicants will increase the supply of lawyers, resulting in a deflationary effect on their fees. Once fees drop AND law school is not the only route to practice law, law schools will close. Between the closure of law schools and the decrease in remuneration for lawyers, the supply will maintain equilibrium, thus resulting in a greater number of lawyers, but at much lower cost.

IMHO, the only reason it seems like there are too many lawyers today is because they have taken over government and vote themselves benefits, by creating new regulatory schemes and opposing tort reforms. These things create demand for lawyers. If we can win the battle against these liberal forces and put a stop to their schemes, the demand will decrease, and we'll end up with BOTH fewer lawyers and cheaper lawyers. Good thing, no?

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

Thanks for the input. Probably right. Adversity hones skills and character.
Still, I wish there were another way.

[Unlikely Hero]

Maybe talk her into a new field!

Kidding, sort of. :)