The Value of a Law Degree

• Author: Dean Cynthia E. Nance
• Position: Dean and Professor of Law, University of Arkansas School of Law; J.D., The University of Iowa College of Law; M.A. The University of Iowa. Thanks to Brittney Flinn & Adam Kent for their excellent research assistance.
• Pages: 1629-1648

1629

The Value of a Law Degree

Dean Cynthia E. Nance

I. PARSING THE DEBT BURDEN ................................................................ 1632

II. LAW-SCHOOL COSTS ARE REFLECTIVE OF GRADUATE-SCHOOL

EXPENSES GENERALLY .......................................................................... 1635

III. ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY AS VALUES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ......... 1636

IV. SEGMENTATION OF THE LEGAL MARKETPLACE .................................... 1640

V. THE LEGAL JOB MARKET IS BROAD ...................................................... 1641

VI. THE LEGAL JOB MARKET IS NOT STATIC ............................................. 1644

VII. OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS LEGAL EDUCATORS .................................... 1647

 Dean and Professor of Law, University of Arkansas School of Law; J.D. , The University

of Iowa College of Law; M.A. The University of Iowa. Thanks to Brittney Flinn & Adam Kent for

their excellent research assistance.

1630 IOWA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 96:1629

Christopher Columbus Mercer attended the University of Arkansas

School of Law, enrolling in the fall of 1949.1 He is one of the earliest black

students to integrate the school, one of six men known collectively as the Six

Pioneers. His historic matriculation was by necessity sporadic. Due to

financial challenges, he was forced to leave school several times in order to

earn the money he needed to pay his way. To earn tuition dollars, he worked

in a high school teaching biology, chemistry, various math classes, and

coaching the basketball team. Upon graduating in 1954, Mercer wrote the

top bar-exam paper. Fittingly, his license was issued the day the Supreme

Court decided Brown v. Board of Education.2 Mercer, at ninety years old, still

practices and, as he has always done, continues to represent clients in an

underserved community.3 Mercer’s story illustrates the reason that law

degrees have value and must remain accessible.

Before discussing my more substantive points, it is important for me to

make a couple of disclosures. First, despite all the negative publicity

surrounding the value of a law degree, I am a believer.4 This is not to ignore

the fact that recent events created increased financial strain for students.

The realities of the loan crunch, increasing tuition,5 decreasing salaries, and

a difficult job market have all exacerbated the financial stress our students

feel. I am aware of and understand the concerns being raised by many who

are unhappy with the state of the practice. However, I believe that a law

degree continues to be a valuable asset to its holder, providing both

economic and intangible benefits.6 Whether or not a law-school graduate

1. Judith Kilpatrick, Desegregating the University of Arkansas School of Law: L. Cliffo rd Davis

and the Six Pioneers, 68 ARK. HIST. Q. 123, 136 (2009) (describing Mercer’s financial challenges

during law school).

2. 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

3. In recognition of his important place in the history of the University of Arkansas and

his longevity as a “people’s lawyer,” the University will recognize Mercer this spring by awarding

him an honorary doctorate degree.

4. I must say that in the course of preparing for this panel, I took comfort in the recent

ABA Journal feature, Why I Love Being a Lawyer (Seriously), A.B.A. J., Feb. 2011, at 34. Given the

overwhelming negativity of recent articles about entering the practice, it was refreshing to be

reminded of why one would want to do so.

5. Law schools, as is the case through out higher education, are increasingly turning to

sources other than public support for survival. In fact, the term “state school” is becoming

somewhat of an inaccuracy given the decreasing public support for higher education. Christian

K. Anderson & Roger L. Williams, Introduction to FUTURE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC RESEARCH

UNIVERSITY 5 (Roger L. Geiger et al. eds., 2007).

6. Whether my belief is a function of being from and aware of the challenges fa ced by an

underserved community and witnessing the transformative power of a lawyer, or from being

“sheltered in the ivory tower” is the subject of some debate amon gst my inner circle.

Nevertheless, I have an unshakeable belief in the power of legal education to transform lives—

both of the holder and members of the society with which she interacts. I realize th is may put

me at odds with the conventional wisdom, but so be it. I happen to share the view of David

Epstein who recently wrote: