An Open Letter to New York Times Journalist Noam Scheiber: Journalists Should Consult Peer-Reviewed Research, Not Bloggers (Michael Simkovic)

To: [email protected]

Dear Mr. Scheiber:

Have you seen this line of peer-reviewed research, which estimates the boost to earning from a law degree including the substantial proportion of law graduates who do not practice law? 

• Michael Simkovic & Frank McIntyre, The Economic Value of a Law Degree, 43 J. Legal Stud. 249 (2014) 
• Michael Simkovic & Frank McIntyre, The Economic Value of a Law Degree (2013) 
• The Economic Value of a Law Degree PowerPoint Presentation

High quality nationally representative data from the U.S. Census Bureau, analyzed using standard and widely accepted econometric techniques, shows that even toward the bottom of the distribution, the value of a law degree (relative to a terminal bachelor’s degree) is much greater than the costs.

All of the data suggests that this has not changed since the financial crisis. The economy is worse and young people are facing more challenges in the job market, but law graduates continue to have the same relative advantage over bachelor’s degree holders as they have had in the past:

• Frank McIntyre & Michael Simkovic, Timing Law School (2015)
• Timing Law School PowerPoint

These findings have been covered in the New York Times before: 

• Michael Simkovic, Overall Stagnation in Legal Jobs Hides Underlying Shifts, The New York Times Dealbook, April 1, 2016
• Steven Davidoff Solomon, Law Schools and Industry Show Signs of Life, Despite Forecasts of Doom, The New York Times Dealbook, March 31, 2015 
• Steven Davidoff Solomon, Debating, Yet Again, the Worth of Law School, The New York Times Dealbook, June 18, 2013

They have also been covered in other major news outlets such as The Atlantic, The Washington Post, CBS, Slate, etc.  And more importantly, they have been cited favorably in the scholarly literature.

Data from the U.S. Census and the Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the number of lawyers has grown since the financial crisis, both in absolute terms and relative to overall employment.  

Data from the Department of Education shows that law school graduates, even from very low-ranked law schools, have exceptionally low student loan default rates.

I have a number of concerns about factual inaccuracies in your recent story, “An Expensive Law Degree, and No Place to Use It” and your reliance on “experts” such as Paul Campos who lack any technical expertise or even basic financial or statistical literacy.

Your readers would receive more reliable information if you concentrated less on sources like Paul Campos and internet “scamblogs” and focused instead on peer-reviewed research by professional economists using high quality data and well-established methods of statistical analysis.

 

UPDATES:

June 18, 2016: Noam Scheiber replies and I respond by re-interviewing Acosta and pointing out specific factual errors in Scheiber's story.

June 20, 2016: I explain different data sources that are useful for counting lawyers.

June 21, 2016: Steven Davidoff Solomon weighs in at N.Y. Times Dealbook, citing my research and supporting my points.

June 21, 2016, 10:05pm EST:  Noam Scheiber sent a lengthy response by email and posted his response to his facebook page.   Scheiber informs me that his response was reviewed by his editors at the New York Times.  

June 24: I responded to Scheiber and explain Why The New York Times Should Correct The Remaining Factual Errors in Its Law School Coverage.  In response, the New York Times posted a correction to the most minor of the 5 remaining errors.