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In October 2015, the New York Times Editorial Board called the national law school debt crisis a “death spiral” marked by rapidly increasing tuition paid for with federal loans which students are increasingly unable to pay back in a faltering legal employment market.  The paper noted, “Forty-three percent of all 2013 law school graduates did not have long-term full-time legal jobs nine months after graduation, and the numbers are only getting worse. In 2012, the average law graduate’s debt was $140,000, 59 percent higher than eight years earlier.”  Recent news stories include one law graduate suing her former school for inflating its employment rate and enticing her to take out $150,000 in loans to attend the school and another graduate’s case seeking discharge of his $300,000 in law school debt pending cert before the Supreme  Court.  Latham & Watkins recently made news by enlisting its banking clients to assist its associates in refinancing their loans at lower interest rates.

Meanwhile, as the Times noted, “Even as law schools are churning out unqualified graduates stuck under hopeless mountains of debt, millions of poor and lower-income Americans remain desperate for quality legal representation.”  The mis-allocation of  resources seems remarkable.

This panel discussion will delve into how law school debt became such a challenging issue both nationally and individually and discuss different private and public potential solutions to the issue.  The Center on the Legal Profession is pleased to welcome LeeAnn Black, Chief Operating Officer of Latham & Watkins, Professor Jonathan Glater, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and Frank Brucato, Senior Associate Dean for Administration and CFO at Stanford Law School. The discussion will be moderated by Professor Deborah Rhode.

LeeAnn Black is the Chief Operating Officer of Latham & Watkins, a global law firm with over 2,200 lawyers located in over 30 offices in the world’s major financial, business and regulatory centers. Latham’s global platform is built on a single, integrated partnership focused on advising clients navigating complex legal and business issues. The firm is consistently ranked among the best law firms globally for its top-tier practices, innovative approach to firm management, commitment to client service and collegial culture. To see LeeAnn Black’s full bio, click here.
Jonathan Glater ‘s writing focuses on the role of law as both response to and source of barriers to higher education. His research interests include the impact of federal aid policy on access to college, the effects of education debt on student decision-making, and relationships between higher education finance and the functioning of financial markets. To see Jonathan Glater’s full bio, click here.
Frank Brucato joined the Stanford staff in 1983 as an assistant financial manager. During his years at the law school, Brucato is credited with masterminding numerous building projects, including the classroom, library, and clinic renovations, and has spearheaded the construction of the Munger Graduate Residence and the William H. Neukom Building. Prior to coming to the law school, Brucato served as an accountant at D. Bradburn & Co. in Monterey after graduating from California State University at San Jose.
Deborah Rhode is the Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law, the director of the Center on the Legal Profession, and the director of the Program in Law and Social Entrepreneurship at Stanford University. She is the most frequently cited scholar on legal ethics. She has received the American Bar Association’s Michael Franck Award for contributions to the field of professional responsibility; the American Bar Foundation’s W. M. Keck Foundation Award for distinguished scholarship on legal ethics, the American Bar Foundation’s Outstanding Scholar Award, the American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award for her work on expanding public service opportunities in law schools, and the White House’s Champion of Change Award for a lifetime’s work in increasing access to justice. To see Deborah Rhode’s full bio, click here.