Case Western Reserve Law School Dean Lawrence E. Mitchell’s recent New York Times op-ed proves that he, like many law school deans, is living in a bubble. Indeed, the views expressed by Mitchell in “Law School Is Worth the Money” underscore one of my reasons for writing The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis, which Basic Books will publish in April 2013. (Another reason is the troubling transformation of most big law firms, but that’s for another day.)
In his spirited defense of Case Western Reserve and its counterparts, Mitchell concludes that the “overwrought atmosphere has created irrationalities that prevent talented students from realizing their ambitions.” Apparently, he thinks everyone should just calm down, ignore facts, and keep pushing naive undergraduates into law school, without regard to what will happen to them thereafter. He’s wrong.
Employment
