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Is a law degree “worth” the cost in terms of return-on-investment?

The answer is still “emphatically” yes. Lawprof Sloan Speck reviews some recent research on the topic; an excerpt:

Among eighteen graduate degrees, law provided the third-highest return to earnings (59%) and cost-adjusted returns (41%). Only medicine and pharmacy provided higher returns. Similar patterns held for gains in net present earnings (41% for law) and internal rate of return (22%). Overall, these findings are consistent with prior research, and J.D. degrees generally look very strong in economic terms. This economic case for law school may become even more important for fall 2026 matriculants, when the new federal graduate student loan cap takes effect….

[T]he returns to a J.D. degree increase linearly and significantly by the degree-granting institution’s U.S. News ranking—more so than for most other graduate degrees. Although not highlighted by the authors, variance in economic returns appears smaller for higher-ranked schools than for lower-ranked schools. Moreover, across J.D. holders, earnings tend to start high and stay high, as opposed to fields such as medicine with a multi-year ramp-up to top salaries. As a bottom line, J.D. degrees from higher-ranked law schools generally represent a low-risk, high-reward proposition. (Other important findings are that college GPAs predict higher returns to a J.D., so all schools may want to revisit undergraduate GPA in their admissions processes.)

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One response to “Is a law degree “worth” the cost in terms of return-on-investment?”

  1. […] Brian Leiter has posted on the question: “The answer is still `emphatically’ yes. Lawprof Sloan Speck reviews some recent research on the topic.” Check out the post and Professor Speck’s analysis. […]

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