What we do know is this: The number of people taking the LSAT this June was up 20%, compared to the number taking it in June 2016.
The rest is speculation as to why.
On Abovethelaw.com, lawyer-journalist Kathryn Rubino presents some of those reasons being proposed to explain the surge.
At the top of the list is what is being called The Trump Bump. Idealists see law as the way to purge America of the current administration. So, sure, get a JD. In fact, plan to work for the ACLU. Perhaps Trumpism has been a tipping point to bring out the latent idealism still in America.
In the late 1960s, there was that same idealist impulse to get a law degree to be part of Ralph Nader's consumer movement. Nader was using the courts to take on the goliaths such as General Motors. Baby Boomers recall that GM's signature became producing cars that were unsafe at any speed.
I myself interviewed to be a Nader Raider when I was at the University of Michigan. But I didn't make the cut. And, it would still be a number of years before I enrolled in law school. My motivation, though, remained idealistic.
Another possible reason for the increase is that the job market is perceived to have improved. No, it isn't back to the golden age when law was a seller's market. But, there are more jobs than there had been post-2007 crash in the legal sector.
The rub is holding on to employment. Layoffs, large-scale and stealth, are still the norm. In some ways, the situation has darkened. For instance, Dentons even cut first-year associates. That had once been unthinkable.
Other reasons proposed for the increase in LSAT-taking include its new rules. There is no longer a limit on how often the test can be taken during a two-year period. And it is being scheduled more often. In addition, this June its timing seemed to work better for those who might not have sat for the test otherwise.
All this represents a terrific development for law schools. The administration and professors will keep their jobs. And, that's the game, isn't it.
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