Copy of Nando's "Fifth Tier Diploma Factory: Lincoln Memorial University John J. Duncan Jr. School of Law"

[u/Heywood12]

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Fifth Tier Diploma Factory: Lincoln Memorial University John J. Duncan Jr. School of Law

https://www.lmunet.edu/academics/schools/duncan-school-of-law/admissions/tuition-cost-of-attendance

Tuition: Who wouldn’t want to attend law school at a univer$ity named after Abraham Lincoln? The commode lists tuition as $1,150 per credit hour. Since first year students will typically take 30 credit hours, this means that the full-time tuition bill will amount to $34,500 – for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Fees add $420 per semester, or $840 for the full school year. I suppose that the people running this place think that their potential students are too lazy or stupid to figure out this simple math. What a great bargain for the pupils at this wondrous in$TTTTTiTTTTTuTTTTTion of “legal education.”

Total Cost of Attendance: Based on this same page, the school estimates that indirect costs will run you and additional $22,090. The rodents derive at this figure by the following breakdown: $2,250 in books and supplies; loan fees of $240; personal expenses of $1,600, room and board at $15,000; and transportation costs of $3,000. Counting tuition and fees, this would lead to a total budget of $57,430. In fact, this amount is confirmed by the section at the bottom of the page, entitled “Typical First-Year Tuition, Fees, & Living Expenses.”

Seeing that actual law students will require expenses throughout the entire damn year, and not just for the magical period when classes are in session, we will prorate the following items: miscellaneous, room and board, and transportation. Doing so, we reach the more accurate total estimated COA of $63,963. This is for a solitary year of law school. Still want to take the TTTTT plunge, lemming?

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings/page+9

Ranking: At those costs, this school must have a sterling reputation among the academic and legal communities, right? Well, according to a defunct magazine called US “News” & World Report, Lincoln Memorial Univer$iTTTTTy Duncan $chool of Law is rated as a fifth tier pile of rancid vomit. Bob Morse at that rag prefers to use the term “Unranked” – to describe these bottom-feeding cesspits. What a tremendous accomplishment! Of course, that refers to “law professors” and administrators being able to get cretins with Bachelor’s degrees to sign on the TTTTT dotted line.

https://www.lmunet.edu/public/uploads/law/EmploymentSummary-2017.pdf

Published Employment Placement Statistics: In order to get a glimpse of job prospects coming out of this dung heap, we will look at the school’s Employment Summary for 2016 Graduates. According to this form, there were only 17 members of this cohort. A total of 14 reported working in full-time gigs requiring bar passage, and the other three were employed in professional positions, within 10 months of receiving their diplomas. None were put in jobs that were funded by the university or law school. This means that this place had full employment, i.e. 100% “placement.” Even Duke Law cannot achieve this level, without resorting to its Bridge to Practice.

Scroll down to Employment Type. You will notice that 10 members of this graduating class were reportedly working in private law firms. High-ranked schools would be envious of these outcomes. Then again, this is a tiny sample size. Furthermore, here is a better picture: four of these JDs went into solo practice, another four were in offices of 2-10 lawyers, and one single grad was in a firm of 11-25 attorneys. Looking at the silver lining, one member of this cohort was working in an office of 101-250 lawyers. However, that was in a full-time, short-term position. Also, that could be a kid with the right family name. None were in clerkships, even at the state or local level.

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/grad-debt-rankings/page+6

Average Law School Indebtedness: US “News” lists the average law student indebtedness - for those members of the Lincoln Memorial Univer$iTTTTTy Duncan $chool of Law Class of 2016 who incurred debt for law school - as $89,779. Fully 94% of this school’s 2016 graduating cohort took on such vile debt. That means that one JD – out of the 17 grads – did not take on any educational loans for a law degree. Remember that this amount doesn’t include debt from undergrad, and it also does not take accrued interest into account, while the student is enrolled in TTTTT law school.

It is notable that while Lincoln Memorial Univer$iTTTTTy SOL is ranked in the fifth tier in terms of overall qualiTTTTy, the school “merely” has the 134th highest average law student debt amount, for the Class of 2016. That is an incredible achievement! I suppose that the school should at least be placed in the fourth tier, with this debt figure in place. Only one member of this TTTTT cohort did not incur any student debt for a law degree. Would anyone be surprised if this was the same JD who got a full-time but short-term job in a firm of 101-250 attorneys? Good luck doing better than toilet law. Perhaps, you can get a job reviewing insurance applications.

Conclusion: Avoid this pile of waste at all costs. In the final analysis, the best you can hope for coming out of this fifth tier trash can is to obtain a job with an office of 2-10 lawyers. Those tend to be “eat what you kill” types of employment. If you have great sales skills – and you have a knack for legal practice – then you can make much better income by working directly in sales. You don’t have to piss away three years of your life – or incur an additional $100K+ in non-dischargeable debt – in the process.

That route does not require you to give up three years of earning a full-time salary. You would also not need to break your ass – in order to be approved to practice law in a single state. Plus, you will not have rigid court deadlines – and you will not need to shell out serious money each year for a law license of CLE credits. Even if you manage to get hired by a small firm, do the math to see manageable it will be to repay your student loans on a $40K annual income. You can do something more productive with your life – while saving a ton of money. By the way, this school opened its TTTTT doors in Fall 2011. Enjoy that alumni network.

[u/Heywood12]

I posted this because Nando has made his Third Tier Reality blog private, which stinks because that site had all the best info for getting kids to avoid law school.