Unemployed law school grads facing crippling debt

After students graduate from law school, most expect to be living comfortably while easily paying off the massive loans they took out to finance the advanced degree. Due to the recession, however, that is not always the reality. Many law school graduates have been in contact with a debt recovery service in order to pay off loans without sending their credit scores plummeting.  The Columbus Dispatch reported job openings for recent law school graduates haven't been this low since the mid-1990s. The source cited Law School Admission Council figures showing that the number of people who took the LSATs during the 2011 - 2012 school year was down by over 20,000 in respect to the 2010 - 2011 academic year. According to the American Bar Association's 2010 figures, the average public law school graduate took out $68,827 to finance their education, while private school attendees are approximately $106,249 in debt. The Hartford Business Journal estimated that law school graduates need to make at least $200,000 more than a holder of a bachelor's degree over a lifetime in order to break even. The Columbus Dispatch also explained the number of people who pass the bar exam is usually far higher than the number of job openings available, and National Association for Law Placement executive director James Leipold predicts it will get worse.