Lawyers, wannabes on the rise

USA Today ^ | 12/26/2003 | By Del Jones

[NortNork]

Answer: More.

The number of lawyers in the USA exceeded 1 million for the first time in 2003. And the number of people taking the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) in 2003 is near the record 152,242 set during the last recession, in 1991. The two-year record of 300,020 of 1990-91 stands an equally good chance of falling in 2002-03.

[rellimpank]

---I wonder which is a greater drag on the economy--criminal activities or lawyers?

[staytrue]

they were worried most about rising health care costs, but litigation costs were in second place

I believe that rising health care costs are directly a result of litigation costs. Further, I was digging through some old papers and found my dad (retired physician) paid $110 dollars for his malpractice insurance in 1962. I suspect that if he were practicing today, the total for 2003 would be in the neighborhood of 110,000 dollars.

[staytrue]

I wonder which is a greater drag on the economy--criminal activities or lawyers?

That is easy, IT'S LAWYERS. A crook might steal something from you worth $1000 every other year. The costs embedded in the price you pay for stuff, especially health care, far exceed that.

[paul51]

Will the additional lawyers find work?

LOL. More lawyers filing suits means more $$$ for all of them. Happy days for the legal scam system. It's like the old joke. If there is one lawyer in town, they starve. If there are two, they are both rich.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

I wonder which is a greater drag on the economy--criminal activities or lawyers?

Criminals and lawyers are both predators........

[waterstraat]

Do women outnumber men yet in being admitted to law school?

[al baby]

The number of lawyers in the USA exceeded 1 million for the first time in 2003

Is this adjusted for Bill Clintons disbarment!!!!

[microgood]

Why don't we pay law schools not to train lawyers or limit the number of graduates like they proposed to do to doctor's? It would save us a ton of money in the long run.

[waterstraat]

Why don't we pay law schools not to train lawyers or limit the number of graduates like they proposed to do to doctor's

Because that is where the remaining jobs are.

I dont know about the men, but with so many factories, engineering, and IT jobs moving to asia, American women are now going into medical school, veterinary school, dentistry school, and law school(not to mention college in general) in order to get a good high paying job.

[KAUAIBOUND]

Thanks to several personal experiences (business-related), I flat out hate lawyers. Period. One of the problems with this country is that lawyers comprise a large number of our legislators, on both the state and Federal level, and 100% of our judiciary. So our legislator-lawyers make the law and our judiciary-lawyers interpret the law, usually at the expense of our freedoms. The good lawyers, the Atticus Finch types, who were respected and trusted, are very few in number today. It's too easy to run up hours on a case doing the easy work, depositions and pre-trial statements, and then advise your client to settle before the heavy lifting in the courtroom. For the businessperson, it makes sense to throw $10 to $15,000 at a settlement and put the matter behind you rather than pay for several hundred hours at $150 per hour and up, even if you think you will win.

[longtermmemmory]

Three points the article fails to mention.

There are so many law schools that there are literally one first year seat for every law school applicant.


The majority of future lawyers are going to be women.

I am not certain but I do remember reading 1/2 of all lawyers are under the age of 40. IOW more lawyers are joining the profession than retiring.

[longtermmemmory]

Yes, which makes it more litigious.

[Felis_irritable]

Some of the greatest minds are ''adding 300 words to a 1,000-word prescription drug warning,'' he said.

When somebody I know tells me that they or their offspring have been accepted at law school, the FIRST thing I think is: "Gee, you must be bright. Did you even consider trying medical school, maybe doing some real good? There are way enough lawyers?" Then I smile and say "Oh that's great."

[longtermmemmory]

Law school has always been an excuse to stay in school longer. If the the ecconomy is bad, get a JD.

Men are going into nursing BTW.

Law schools are cheep to build and run and are very profitable for universities. There are no labratories or medical supplies. Mandating all students have laptops even decreases library costs due to online research.

Keep in mind too, lawyers are contained in the states they have licenses. (ignoring reciprocity for the moment) The larger states do not accept the bar exam of other states.

Medical schools will only accept qualified candidates and will allow seats to go empty. Law schools will fill a quota. (hmmmm)

[waterstraat]

Men are going into nursing BTW.

Nope. About 90% of nursing students still are female - been about that way for some time now. Almost no doctors offices, and very few clinics would hire a male nurse. Although hospitals do hire some male nurses they dont work in all areas, eg, obstetrices, whereas a female nurse can work anywhre. There are more immigrants going to nursing school than men, and the wages of nurses are really not very good. You would be lucky to make much more than $20 an hour, no matter how many decades of experience that you have.

The shortage of nurses is widely misrepresented. There isnt really a shortage, rather, there are a lot of hospitals that diliberately have cut back on nurses, and worked to death the few remaining nurses that they keep. Yeah, there are shortages at hospitals of nurses, but it is a more or less "intended"/artificial shortage.

And it was announced last week that 50.8% of applicants to medical schools now were women, while 49.2% were men.

[longtermmemmory]

never said the majority of nursing students were men. I should have stated more precisely that more men are going into nursing. There was a print article on the subject. Most the male nurses I have seen are in the heavy areas of medicine, rehab, physical therapy, Hospital floor or nursing homes. The article stated that the men did not view nursing as a long term career.

I agree that men are intentially limited in the medical field. (by necesity in some cases) No harm with respect to the woman patient. However men are condemned if they make the same request of no women but that is a differnt thread.

[afuturegovernor]

No, I don't think so - my law school - the University of Mississippi is about 60%-40% male.

[afuturegovernor]

That's interesting; I didn't know all that.

[reg45]

---I wonder which is a greater drag on the economy--criminal activities or lawyers?

You're assuming that there is a difference. NOT!