Law School Debts

My best friend and only reader tipped me off to an article in the NYT about the sad state of law students who have a ton of debt and how they got into that situation. Stories of lawyers carrying huge debts are nothing new to lawyers, even those, like me, who are in the JAG world where alumni from the super expensive schools are few and far between. It always induces a little "there, but for" cringe when I hear the stories about how much some young lawyers owe in student loans (wait, I said young lawyers...does that mean I'm an old lawyer?). I have my own law school debts too, but nothing on the scale with those described in the story. And this is a good thing, I guess, because based on this story and the fact that I'll be looking for a lawyerly job in about a year, I probably should worry about the fact that I went to one of the second (or lower) tier "sewer pits" referenced in the article. I think I'll be OK, though. I've got an interesting and varied background and I'm probably looking to go into a federal government position, where my military service gives me a leg up. Still, stories like this do cause me to worry just a bit about leaving the safe cocoon of military employment.