As number of law school grads rises in Florida, demand drops

Miami Herald ^ | July 27. 2014 | SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Ask Jason Fraser how many jobs he applied for after graduating from a St. Petersburg law school last year and this is what he says:

“Maybe 10 or 20 when it was some place I wanted to work. Maybe 50 when I started getting desperate.’’

After searching as far afield as Ocala and Miami, Fraser finally landed a public defender’s post in Pasco County in June. But his months of job-hunting raises another question, one that nags at many in the legal profession:

Does Florida have too many lawyers?

Since 2000, the number of licensed attorneys has swollen from 60,900 to 96,511. In the same period, five new law schools have opened, cranking out even more lawyers to join those bemoaning the diminished rewards of their chosen career.

“Now it seems you work harder to make half of what you did in 1998,’’ said Angela Wright, a Tampa criminal defense lawyer. “The economy is a reason but also the fact there are a whole lot more attorneys.’’........

[Milton Miteybad]

Where was the relative’s graduate-level costs of education stated — a vital factor to your complaint?

I don't recall that it was, not that it makes any difference. A year at even the most mediocre law school is going for $40-$60K, including the cost of living. If "the relative" received a full free ride through law school, then perhaps he/she may eventually achieve a benefit-to-cost ratio above 1.0000. Most law graduates these days aren't so fortunate.

I gather you’re not familiar with the value of business professionals educated in law, especially in the areas of contract, health, and patent law.

To the contrary, with 34 eminently successful years in business selling similar services, I would say I have a better-than-average idea of the value of such personnel. I also know that those skills don't necessarily have to come in a package wrapped in a J.D. degree.

[Gene Eric]

Your point concerns the cost of the degree, not the opportunity provided by it.