An annual report that gauges prevailing moods among law students revealed an unsurprising finding, given the current economic climate: More students expect to work in public interest law, and fewer students expect to work for private law firms.
The data point is the headlining outcome of the recently-released 2009 report from the Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE). This year’s study is titled, “Student Engagement in Law Schools: Enhancing Student Learning”.
Specifically, of the more than 26,000 law students from 82 schools surveyed in spring 2009, 50 percent expect to work in private law firms upon graduation, compared with 58 percent in years prior. Similarly, 33 percent expect to work in government positions or for public interest law organizations, compared with 29 percent in previous reports.
While these data points are unsurprising, they do put statistical figures to prevalent opinion.
“As with other sectors of the economy, law students seem to be revising career expectations to realistically respond to the current professional landscape,” indicated the LSSSE’s press release.
The 24-page report (PDF) breaks its findings into three sections: feedback on faculty, out-of-class activities and development, and career goals and expectations. In some instances, findings are characterized as “promising,” such as the fact that 80 percent of respondents would probably or definitely choose the same law school again, or “disappointing,” such as figures on out-of-the-classroom faculty involvement and debt levels.
In all, 157 law schools have participated in the survey since 2003, including top programs like Harvard, Emory and USC Law Schools.
The Law Blog was reminded of the report by LawSchool.com.
