Judge Throws Out Law Students' Lawsuit Over Misleading Job Statistics and Says Students Should Have Know What They Were Paying $150,000 For

A few weeks ago I wrote an article titled Were Law Students Snookered By Law School Job Statistics (click here to access) and I concluded that while law schools should report accurate data, a student could not reasonably argue that they went to law school because of the one page of a law school’s website that said they would get a job right after graduation. 

Apparently a New York Supreme Court Judge agrees.  Last week, the Judge tossed out the first of many lawsuits brought by students who claimed they were snookered by misleading job statistics.  The significant part of the court decision is reposted here.

The court does not view these post-graduate employment statistics to be misleading in a material way for a reasonable consumer acting reasonably. By anyone's definition, reasonable consumers -- college graduates -- seriously considering law schools are a sophisticated subset of education consumers, capable of sifting through data and weighing alternatives before making a decision regarding their post-college options, such as applying for professional school. These reasonable consumers have available to them any number of sources of information to review when making their decisions.

The Judge’s argument is in essence that because potential law students are “sophisticated” and have many sources of information available at their fingertips they knew or should know that employment and salary statistics provided by the law school should not be the sole basis for their decision. 

Sound familiar?  It should as here is what I wrote and posted a few weeks before the decision.

That being said, I also think students have a responsibility to perform some research about the job market such that they are comfortable with a decision to become a lawyer.  A simple internet search will (and would have) shed some light on the fact that not every lawyer is making a six digit salary and that finding a job as a lawyer (especially in this economy) is difficult.  In addition, the law school application process is extensive and it strikes me that at some point during that six month to year process (LSAT, application, acceptance, summer) that a student has an affirmative responsibility to investigate the job prospects a bit more than relying on the webpage of a private law school. 

I for one am happy the lawsuit was thrown out and I hope that the cases in other States follow the same path. Law schools should report meaningful job statistics but suing a private institution because you were "misled" by a statistic on a webpage is not the answer in my opinion. Not everything should be a lawsuit and this entire situation is an example of the world looking in and seeing the legal profession (law schools, students, lawyers) behaving badly.  

To be clear, this is not the fault of students but I do not think that lawsuits are the answer here.  As such, I feel the case being thrown out for EXACTLY the reasons stated in the decision is exactly what should have happened.  I recognize that this opinion is not shared by everyone and would welcome feedback and commentary so that both sides are adequately represented.

Do Not Worry About Whether You Will Pass The Bar Exam Because There is Almost a 90% Chance That You Will Pass It On Your First Attempt

If you are a first time writer, there is a very good chance that you will pass the Bar exam on your first attempt so you should not stress yourself out.  The FACT is that almost 90% of first time writers in most States pass the bar on their first attempt so if you are not used to being in the bottom 10%, there is no reason for you to believe that you will be in the bottom 10% when you sit for the bar exam.  Unlike law school, the Bar exams set a minimum standard and the examiners have not set a special number of people they expect to pass. As such, if you meet that standard you will pass. The key to passing of course is studying and doing practice questions.  If you study, you most likely will not have anything to worry about and if you did not study, you can always take the exam again in the next sitting.

A complete list of statistics regarding pass rates for 2009 in all States can be found at http://www.ncbex.org/assets/media_files/Statistics/2009Stats110111.pdf and you can see from this table that approximately 88% of first time writers from ABA approved law schools (the 200 or so law schools in the U.S.) passed the bar exam on the first try.  In order to find this though, you must go to page 17 of this table and look at a chart called, “First-Time Exam Takers and Repeaters from ABA-Approved Law Schools.”

This table illustrates though that pass rates for Bar examinations are somewhat confusing so you should understand what you are reading.  First, the pass rates are broken down in a number of different ways.  The overall pass rate is not a very good indicator as it includes people who are second time takers and in some States the pass rate includes foreign trained lawyers.  Both of these latter categories score very poorly on the bar exam and bring the overall pass statistic down.  For example, for the 2009 bar examination in July, the overall pass rate for New York was 72%.  When you look at the detail though, you will see that for first time takers from law schools in the United States, the pass rate was 88%.  During that same period, those who repeated the exam in July only achieved a pass rate of 35%.  Similarly, those who sat for the Bar examination in New York from Law Schools outside of United States had a pass rate of 34%.  All of these combined make up the 72% pass rate.

As you can see, first time takers from law schools in the U.S. do very well on the bar exam.  In some States, the pass rate for first time takers is over 90% (and for some it is 100%) and these high pass rates are the norm.  As indicated, second time takers and foreign lawyers really bring down the State averages so it is best to look at statistics from the category to which you belong. 

That being said, do not let the high pass rates fool you. You must study for the bar!  I know of two people from Harvard Law School that failed the New York Bar examination on their first attempt.  When I spoke with these individuals they indicated that they had only done a small number of the practice essay and multiple-choice questions where I did hundreds.  The key to passing the Bar is preparation and generally this preparation should start with a Bar Preparation course.

MSBCBS of TN Settles HIPAA/HITECH Violation for $1.5M

The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement of $1.5M with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee (BCBST) relating to potential violations under the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. According to the OCR press release, the enforcement action by OCR is the first reported as resulting from a breach report required under the new Breach Notification Rule implemented as a result of the HITECH provisions of HIPAA.

The breach involved 57 unencrypted computer hard drives that were stolen from a facility leased by BCBST in Tennessee. The hard drives contained protected health information of approximately 1 million individuals. The breach was reported by BCBST to OCR under the HITECH provisions and regulations that require reporting of potential breaches. The press release indicates that OCR’s investigation found that BCBST failed to implement appropriate administrative safeguards to adequately protect information remaining at the leased facility by not performing the required security evaluation in response to operational changes. In addition, the investigation showed a failure to implement appropriate physical safeguards by not having adequate facility access controls; both of these safeguards are required by the HIPAA Security Rule.

For more information check out the HHS press release "HHS settles HIPAA case with BCBST for $1.5 million" which includes a link to the HHS Resolution Agreement entered into between OCR and BCBST.

Were Law Students Snookered by Law School Job Statistics?

By now you should have heard about the controversy surrounding how some law schools report statistics on job data.  If you have not, you should know that for some schools when you see a statistic that says 95% of students have a job after graduation, this may simply means that they are “employed” and the percentage often includes people who are working at McDonalds, at bars, collecting census information, cleaning houses and…well you get the picture.  A friend told me that when he started law school and was setting up his cable, the customer service operator told him that she was an alum from the school he was going to attend.  She too, the operator, was most likely included in that school’s job data stats. 

This reporting has led to a wave of protest and even lawsuits as students argue that they were misled and that if they would have known how dismal the job market was, they would not have spent $200,000 to go to law school.  Others use the statistics and the poor job market to dissuade some from applying to law school arguing that there is a glut of lawyers on the market.  One individual on another blog called for comprehensive reform and called for an advertising campaign "similar to a proactive public health education on HIV," before students "ruin their lives."  (I found this description a bit on the dramatic side but who am I to say) A few points on this topic.

First, I fully support accurate reporting of job statistics and students should make an informed decision as to whether or not they want to attend law school.  The legal profession is based on ethics and has many professional responsibility requirements that clearly law schools and lawyer should follow.  Law schools should not wait for regulation to force them to accurately report and all should take the steps that some law schools have already taken to accurately report.   The American Bar Association (ABA) has recently developed standards that should at least in part address some of the issues.

That being said, I also think students have a responsibility to perform some research about the job market such that they are comfortable with a decision to become a lawyer.  A simple internet search will (and would have) shed some light on the fact that not every lawyer is making a six digit salary and that finding a job as a lawyer (especially in this economy) is difficult.  In addition, the law school application process is extensive and it strikes me that at some point during that six month to year process (LSAT, application, acceptance, summer) that a student has an affirmative responsibility to investigate the job prospects a bit more than relying on the webpage of a private law school.  As such, I am not a big fan of suing your law school and would not consider it even if I did not find a job.  To be clear, these comments in no way absolve law schools from the responsibility to publish meaningful statistics but rather are meant to prompt current and prospective students to examine the true reasons they decided or will decide to become lawyers. 

I also feel that students should not give up on a dream to become a lawyer because of a current poor job market.  The fact is that given the poor economy many graduates in all fields have and will continue to have a tough time getting a job and this should not stop an individual from going after the profession they desire.  If you go to law school and want to become a lawyer, you should do it for the right reasons.  If this is the case, you will find a job (eventually) as long as you keep plugging away at it.  I have many friends that went to Brooklyn Law School who graduated in 2010 and it is true that when I sat for the bar that summer, many did not have jobs (legal or other).  I recently connected with many of them through Linkedin and see that now most do have jobs in a legal field.  

You should also keep in mind that a law degree is often not a printing press when it comes to making money.  Many lawyers are not making hundreds of thousands of dollars but neither are many MBAs, Accountants or other professionals.  If money is the only reason you want to become a lawyer you should seek another profession. (perhaps a banker but even many of them are unemployed now).  In addition, I believe that a law degree will help you in many other fields.  I also have an M.B.A and to tell you the truth I have found my J.D. much more helpful.

I suppose that one good thing about the controversy is that it may create a large group of lawyers who go to law school for the right reasons.  Presumably those who are unsure or think that they will not make enough money will decide to do something else that will satisfy this need.  

OHFLAC Announces New Independent Informal Dispute Resolution Procedure for West Virginia Nursing Homes

The latest West Virginia Health Care Association e-News Update announced that the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification (OHFLAC) has put into place a new Independent Informal Dispute Resolution (IIDR) review of disputed deficiencies for all nursing homes in West Virginia. The new IIDR procedure goes into effect immediately and three out of state vendors experienced in IDRs were selected to be the third party reviewers. The current Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR) will remain as an alternative option.

According to the e-News Update, the new procedure will be detailed in a letter to providers when OHFLAC returns the Statement of Deficiencies to the provider after a survey. The letter will contain instructions on how to request an IIDR. OHFLAC is proposing to use the following language in the letters:

INFORMAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION:
In accordance with 42 CFR 488.331, you have an opportunity to question cited deficiencies through an informal dispute resolution process. To request an informal dispute resolution, please submit in writing the specific deficiencies being disputed and an explanation of why you are disputing those deficiencies to:

                                    Informal Dispute Resolution Review Committee
                                    Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification
                                    408 Leon Sullivan Way
                                    Charleston, WV 25301-1713

You may also send your request via email to DHHR.OHFLAC.@wv.gov. 
This request must be sent during the same ten (10) calendar days you have for submitting a Plan of Correction (POC) for the cited deficiencies and must be contained on a document separate from the CMS-2567L, which contains the POC. 
You may choose between an informal dispute resolution (IDR) and an independent informal dispute resolution (IIDR).  You must clearly indicate your choice in the attention line of your request and the subject line of your email. An IDR will be completed by OHFLAC staff not associated with the referenced survey event.

Per West Virginia State Code §16-5C-12a, an IIDR will be completed by an independent review organization.  If an independent informal dispute resolution process is selected, the matter will be assigned to one of three independent review organizations accredited by the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission.  The facility may be subject to certain costs such as:
•     The cost of a face-to-face conference if one is requested; and
•     The cost charged by the independent review organization, should the facility not be successful in its dispute.

Please call us at 304-346-4575 if you have any questions.

The new IIDR procedure will allow nursing homes an alternative option to the standard IDR process when questions arise during the survey process and related POC requirement. The new procedure will allow a nursing home provider to challenge the particular survey finding through an alternative/independent process. Whether this new alternative procedure will be valuable to nursing home providers is yet to be seen.

Should You “Paralegal” Before Law School?

          Many prospective law students wonder whether or not there are advantages associated with taking a job as a paralegal prior to law school.  In fact, this question came up last week when I sat on a panel with two other lawyers and a law student at Harvard University where a college student was thinking about spending a year after college working as a paralegal.  The panel members had mixed responses and here is a flavor of the discussion.  First, this post only addresses the specific question of whether or not you should work as a paralegal in order to increase your chances of getting into law school.  A job as a paralegal is a very respectable job and this post does not address whether or not you should select that as a career. 

Will a Job as a Paralegal Make Your Law School Application More Competitive?

          There was general consensus that a job as a paralegal is not going to make your law school application any more competitive.  In fact some felt that you may be at a slight disadvantage as many associate the role of a paralegal with administrative tasks.  If you really want to make your law school application more competitive, you might be better served to take a year prior to law school pursuing something that you are interested in so that you can passionately describe an interesting chapter of your life to the admissions committee.  If being a paralegal fits this description then that is fine too but describing your year as a paralegal will at best show a general interest in law and it is not certain that you will be able to talk about your experience in a way that will impress most lawyers or admission committee members.

Will you get Great Experience that Will Help Your Application?

          One college student at the panel discussion also wondered whether a paralegal job would provide him with valuable “legal” experience.  Generally, the consensus was that it would not.  This is especially the case if you are a paralegal in a large firm where the administrative tasks will far outweigh any substantive experience.  Some panel members did note though that they had jobs in the not-for-profit sector where paralegals gained valuable experience and performed tasks similar to tasks that lawyers perform.   I have also seen this in smaller companies where the paralegal was able to perform substantive tasks.

Will Being A Paralegal Help You Get A Job as A Lawyer?

          Generally the consensus was that taking a job as a paralegal prior to law school would not help you find a legal related job.  The results here could differ if you perform substantive tasks.  In addition one important thing to note is that many are under the mistaken impression that if you work as a paralegal in a large firm that they will hire you after law school.  While this is possible, I know many people who worked as paralegals at large firms and were not picked up by that firm during the recruitment process.  Even if you are hired, it will definitely be because you had great grades and were an attractive candidate.  I personally do not feel that being a paralegal adds much to make you an attractive candidate but opinions may differ here.  Also, I do know people who worked as paralegals for large firms and are now employed there. Again though, these students had excellent grades and were probably offered positions at other top firms.  That is, I doubt they got the job because they were a paralegal at the firm.  Also again, I know many more people who were not ever offered a job at the firm where they worked as a paralegal.  

What are Some of the Advantages?

          The key advantage associated with being a paralegal is that you get an up front look at what being a lawyer is like.  (mind you it will not show you what law school is like & for me a great part of being a lawyer was the law school experience)  A preview of the life of a lawyer can be particularly helpful if you are a “big law” paralegal because it may give you insight as to whether you want to commit to the big law life. (long hours, unpredictability, etc.)   I am not sure that this is a good enough reason to work as a paralegal though as you could get a good insight by speaking to people or perhaps doing an internship during law school.  Moreover, as a paralegal you may be exposed to one narrow area of law that may turn you off law altogether.  Lawyers often end up in numerous fields and this one glimpse may not be enough to make an informed decision regarding a career. 

Advice

          There are two pieces of advice here.  First, if you take time off after college (75% of Harvard Law School’s last entering class took a year off), focus on something that you have a passion for and something that you want to do.  This will make you happy and will also make for excellent material for your application.  With many good students applying to top schools, the schools are often looking at that time off to determine what the student is made of.  I am not sure that being a paralegal does a great deal to put you ahead of the person that say went to a third world country to feed the starving or build schools.   Second, if you do want to work as a paralegal prior to going to law school, sit down and talk to some lawyers who worked as paralegals prior to going to law school.  You should also speak to several current paralegals to see what they like and dislike about their jobs. 

          To conclude, I will repeat that being a paralegal is a very respectable job but if the question is will it help you get into law school or get a legal job, my answer is no.

This summary is one of many that are offered in the new book, Law School Lowdown (Barron's Publishing).  You can order the new book written by Harvard Law School graduate, Ian E. Scott, by clicking here.  

http://www.amazon.com/Law-School-Lowdown-Secrets-Application/dp/143800317X