07 Mar Student Case Against Law School to Proceed

Do law schools mislead applicants about who gets what jobs after graduation? That’s the crux of a case in California brought by one Anna Alaburda, who was at the top of her Thomas Jefferson School of Law class. She claims the school lied about job prospects when she applied, including things like part-time waitressing as “employed.” She says she would not have applied and incurred over $100,000 in debt if she knew that, according to the ABA Journal. She has not been able to get a law job in 10 years since her graduation.

Multiple similar cases seeking to file as class actions have been dismissed. People knew what they were getting into. These were smart people who understood that employment was by no means guaranteed, said those other courts. And, to its credit, the American Bar Association has insisted in recent years that schools work harder to be more transparent, and apparently they have. So this is good. And the California court, unlike its brethren in other states, has decided Anna has enough credibility to allow the case to go to trial.

On the soapbox: just more reason to permit law school to end after two years, or allow the third year to include hands-on experiential training. And of course employment data should be clear. Last I heard Machiavelli does not run our legal system. Off the soapbox.