You think that after all the complaining about how law schools are taking advantage of a bunch of suckers by selling them the good life after three very expensive years, Above the Law would be supportive of a school that is trying to get students out as fast as possible. So when the Indiana University Maurer School of Law1 announced plans to allow 2Ls to graduate a semester early by taking summer classes, ATL was all for it, right?
Apparently not. The plan is to offer six courses over the summer, in addition to some of Indiana’s clinics. That should give most students enough credits to graduate. Tuition and fees would be charged for the summer session exactly like a regular semester, so it would be no advantage or disadvantage.
But Elie Mystal isn’t biting:
Who the hell wants to pay the same price in order to graduate early into this legal economy? Honestly. Is there even one person who wants to do this? Jesus tapdancing with a monkey grinder Christ. This program is primarily directed at 2Ls who haven’t been able to secure summer jobs. What makes the IU administration think these students will magically become employable when they graduate, early and off-cycle, in December? Winter hiring is for lateral associates who hung on for their bonuses and are now looking to move on, not for “4Ls” with no experience who couldn’t even get a summer job.
All valid complaints. I don’t believe that the program is targeted at 2Ls who haven’t been able to find summer jobs, I just believe that’s how it’s going to work out. A 2L who is employed over the summer won’t be able to take the classes, and still has a decent chance of being invited back to that job the following fall, so there’s no reason to graduate early.
However, the program is the seed of a good idea for brand new law students. Anything that makes law school shorter is a good thing. Just from a money standpoint, while you’re not saving on tuition, you are saving on rent and other expenses (especially if you’re paying for two apartments over the summers).
But that only works if law schools offer something during those summer breaks that is worth as much or more than actual employment. There would need to be hands-on clinical work and practical skill-based courses. Targeted classes fleshing out something like a major (litigation, criminal law, tax, etc.) would be helpful.
But Indiana’s current last minute program is valuable for one group of people: those 2Ls who believe they shouldn’t have gone to law school. At this point, you are more than halfway in. You’ve sunk a lot into law school. You might be questioning whether it’s worth it to see it through.
IU moving the finish line up six months could make it worthwhile to get the J.D. and move on with your life, rather than turning that investment (as little as it might be worth) into a mountain of completely pointless debt. In the current landscape where everything comes back to rankings, there’s a decent chance IU is doing this to avoid a spike in attrition rates. But if it gets people through law school rather than quitting that far into it, I’m in favor.
- My alma mater, so if I get a little testy here, that’s why. ↩
