Law School Transparency (LST) – a three-year-old not-for-profit consumer body – has developed an on-line tool designed to provide prospective students with unadulterated details of regarding law schools – such as tuition rates and loan arrangements – as well as post-graduation employment prospects and potential legal profession salary levels.

Employment scores

Speaking to the National Law Journal, the organisation’s executive director, Kyle McEntee, said: ‘The goal is to have the most comprehensive picture of employment outcomes ever produced.’ According to the newspaper, LST claims to have produced an ‘employment score’ for US law schools that is more detailed and analytical than the version currently used by the American Bar Association.
The database launch in the last few days comes against the backdrop of growing concern in the US over allegations that law schools massage their graduate employment figures to make their institutions more attractive to potential students. Indeed, some colleges and universities have been accused of intentionally misleading students to the view that their chances of obtaining positions at top law firms is much better than their graduation figures actually reveal.

Scaremongering

According to the Journal, Mr McEntee maintains that the LST database is not designed to deter students from careers in the law: ‘The idea is not to scare people away from law school – though I think this information will have that effect on many ... The point is to make people think about the real cost of going to law school.’