WEST CHESTER, PA — AccessLex Institute, a leading authority in legal education, recently released an update to its Legal Education Data Deck, illuminating new trends and statistics that impact access, affordability, and value in the field.
The data, compiled from multiple educational institutions, organizations, and federal agencies, provides a comprehensive view of the current state of legal education. Key findings from the January Data Deck include insights into undergraduate debt, salaries for recent J.D. graduates, and first-time bar passage rates.
One striking finding is that nearly half of all law students enroll in law school with outstanding debt from their undergraduate education. The average amount of this debt among those who still owe is close to $27,000. The Data Deck also revealed that 22 percent of law students in 2019-20 were first-generation college students, and 37 percent were former Pell Grant recipients.
The report also shed light on the financing of graduate education. A majority of law graduates fund their education through loans, with the proportion increasing by five percentage points between 2016 and 2020. Interestingly, while law graduates borrowed less for their undergraduate education compared to other graduates, they borrowed more for their graduate education—surpassed only by those in medicine and other health professions.
In terms of post-graduation outcomes, the data showed some encouraging trends. The median salary for employed J.D. graduates from the class of 2022 increased to $85,000, up from $80,000 for the class of 2021. However, when adjusted for inflation, median salaries declined slightly from $89,600 to $87,600 between 2021 and 2022.
Bar passage rates were also examined, with 75 percent of first-time exam takers from ABA-approved law schools passing the bar in 2022. There was considerable variation among jurisdictions, with rates ranging from 58 to 89 percent, and a majority of states reported decreases in first-time bar passage rates between 2021 and 2022.
Tiffane Cochran, Vice President of Research at AccessLex Institute, emphasized the importance of this data in ongoing efforts to diversify legal education. “Our latest edition of the Data Deck presents an updated picture of differences in the accessibility and affordability of a J.D. compared to other graduate and professional degrees,” she said. “Continuing to monitor and evaluate our progress on these and related metrics is imperative.”
These findings provide invaluable insights for those within the legal education industry, highlighting areas of concern such as student debt and bar passage rates, but also indicating positive trends like the increase in median salaries for recent graduates. With this data in hand, stakeholders can make more informed decisions and implement strategies to enhance the accessibility, affordability, and value of legal education.
Review the new Data Deck here.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and Microsoft Start.