Law School's Popularity Dropping?

Apparently college graduates got the memo that going to law school won't guarantee them a job, but will guarantee them massive debt: The number of Law School Admission Tests administered over the past school year was down by more than 16%, the Law School Admission Council reports. That's the biggest drop in more than 10 years, the New York Times notes. And over the past two years combined, the number of LSAT test-takers has dropped by almost 25%. (The number peaked at 171,514 during the 2009-10 academic year.)

The job landscape for law school grads is widely regarded as bleak, and that spells trouble for the 45,000 students expected to emerge with their law degrees each year for the next three years. And many experts don't see the situation improving, since legal work can be increasingly handled overseas thanks to new technology. "For a long time there has been this culturally embedded perception that if you go to law school, it will be worth the money," says a rep at a legal education policy organization. "The idea that law school is an easy ticket to financial security is finally breaking down." (More LSAT stories.)