Law schools are routinely criticized for failing to find jobs for their grads.
Well, a dozen schools across the country have found a new way to make sure at least some of their graduates find jobs, The New York Times reports. They're opening up their own nonprofit law firms.
These nonprofit law firms are trying to solve two problems at once: a glut of new attorneys and a shortage of legal services for the poor.
In theory, these nonprofits charge clients relatively low fees and give new grads a chance to get some experience. One school's program is already being attacked, though.
Arizona State's Alumni Law Group charges $125 an hour, which critics say is too much money for poor people to pay. Here's more criticism of Arizona's program from the Times:
"Some see a naked attempt to improve the school’s ratings in U.S. News and World Report by increasing the percentage of its graduates who find work while doing little to address the access-to-justice problem."
But, the Times added, postgraduate clinics similar to Arizona's will likely be the "way of the future" for many of the country's 200 law schools.
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