This past year’s election was one of the most controversial in America’s recent history, and it is leaving Americans with no choice but to agree to disagree. This difference of opinion is affecting every market, and the legal industry is no exception. Regardless of political affiliation, prospective legal students around the country are flocking to LSAT testing centers to fight for their spot in law schools; and according to a recent study performed by Above the Law, 24% of these students attribute their newfound juridical interest to the election of President Trump.
This spike in statistics leaves many wondering ‘Why law school?’. The Chicago Tribune published an article earlier this month regarding this exact issue. They interviewed prospective law students who gave them a variety of responses. Trump supporters say they want to be the one to ‘win that case for him’, whereas the opposition wants to ‘become the judge to stand up to him’. Seeing as the President’s proposed policies are extremely controversial, these responses are to be expected; prospective students have hopes to shape the future based on their political stances. However, there is a third opinion that mocks these ‘Trump Bump’ followers. One student interviewed by The Chicago Tribune believes that people motivated by Trump should reassess this temporal and financial investment. Their argument is that the current political climate will be short-lived, but choosing a career path will long outlast the current bureaucratic state.
The most astounding evidence that supports the ‘Trump Bump’ theory is how pre-law advisers, and legal admissions offices, are seeing a large rise in interest of immigration, environmental, and public interest law. These three sectors are some of the most contentious topics of Trump’s presidency as of yet. This stands to prove that these eager students are set on either supporting or derailing any future legislation that the Trump administration wishes to pursue.
While the passion remains strong in law schools across the nation, the largest concern is whether the legal market will be able to support the increase in size of these graduating classes. Although some areas of the market have seen hiring increases, such as larger and more niche law firms, the market overall may not be able to handle the influx of applicants. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector will only see a 9% growth rate between 2016 and 2026. Though this may seem positive this will not be enough to absorb the surge of graduating attorneys. This will lead to an increasingly competitive job market, which is good news for hiring firms, but will further test the limits of potential applicants.
Those who support the President care to disagree. They say that if they support the President’s politics there will be multiple job openings for them either lobbying or in the federal government. If this is true, what would this mean for his opposition? Will they be banished to job hunting for the rest of their career? Will there be an equal amount of lobbying opportunities? While there may not be answers now, one thing is certain: big changes are coming to the legal market.