Law School Oasis : Law students in the Dakotas enjoy decent job prospects , comparatively low debt
By Tom Dennis , Editor , Prairie Business magazine
GRAND FORKS , N . D . – Esquire Never . Inside the Law School Scam . Law Lemmings . Third Tier Reality .
And a few other names that can ’ t be printed here .
In parts of America , the Great Recession hammered the economics of practicing law , and underemployed lawyers ’ angry “ scam blogs ” ( such as the ones listed above ) have swung mallets at the situation ever since .
“ My goal is to inform potential law school students and applicants of the ugly realities of attending law school ,” declares one , with the alleged “ reality ” being “ your huge investment in time , energy and money does not , in any way , guarantee a job as an attorney .”
Make no mistake , the national numbers have been sobering . Between 2008 and 2011 , some 15,000 attorney and legal-staff jobs at large firms “ vanished ,” the New York Times reported . Unemployment among lawyers in some markets rose , applications to many law schools dropped . More recently , a few law schools have merged or even closed .
But …
That ’ s not the whole picture .
In North Dakota , South Dakota and western Minnesota , it ’ s not even very close .
“ I have never had anyone say to me there are too many lawyers in North Dakota ,” said Tony Weiler , executive director of the State Bar Association of North Dakota . “ Believe me , lawyers love to voice their opinions . And I think if they all of a sudden started to not have any work , we would hear about it . Based on that and other factors , I know lawyers are busy , and there is demand .”
Eric Schulte , former president of the State Bar of South Dakota and a partner in the law firm of Davenport Evans in Sioux Falls , S . D ., agreed .
“ There really are opportunities to practice law in South Dakota ,” Schulte said . “ I don ’ t think it ’ s the same situation as some of the bigger markets that you find on the East and West coasts . I think that our economy tends to be robust and healthy here , and I can tell you that from my perspective , we need more lawyers in South Dakota .”
Like other key elements of the economy , the legal profession in Prairie Business ’ circulation area largely avoided the national recession ’ s most serious effects , interviews and statistics suggest .
Don ’ t misunderstand . As with the region ’ s housing market and household incomes , a big reason why the lawyers ’ jobs didn ’ t “ bust ” is that they ’ d never “ boomed ” in the first place .
Instead , the region ’ s always-more-modest market for lawyers simply improved steadily .
That “ always more modest ” description is important to understand .
“ If you ’ re thinking about a market like New York or Chicago , or if you ’ re expecting your first job as a lawyer to pay over six figures , you have to understand that that ’ s not realistic for North Dakota ,” said Kathryn Rand , dean and professor at the Grand Forks , N . D . -based University of North Dakota ( UND ) School of Law . “ That ’ s not our character , that ’ s not our goal . We ’ re upfront with students that this is a different market and a different path .”
And in both North Dakota and South Dakota , that path tends to result in a first job out of law school that pays roughly $ 50,000 to $ 65,000 .
But the context is vital when considering those sums .
For one thing , new lawyers who ’ ve worked hard can be reasonably confident of finding a job in that range . “ Definitely in South Dakota , there are jobs for our grads ,” said Devra Sigle Hermosilla , director of career services at the University of South Dakota ( USD ) School of Law in Vermillion , S . D . “ At graduation , about 70 percent of the Class of 2017 was employed already .”
And 10 months after graduation , some 91 percent of USD Law ’ s Class of 2016 had jobs for which a law degree was either required or preferred , a measure of job quality . That ’ s well above the national average , which is about 75 percent .
For another thing , USD and UND are two of America ’ s least expensive nationally ranked law schools . Law students at New York University pay about $ 64,000 a year in tuition and fees ; for North Dakota residents at the UND law school , the comparable figure is about $ 12,000 .
As a result , graduates leave the UND and USD law schools with
8 THE GAVEL