LANSING, Mich — Four graduates of Thomas M. Cooley Law School are suing the college for $250 million, claiming it uses misleading statistics on post-graduate employment and salaries as a way to attract students, the Lansing State Journal reported.
The alumni have been unable to find work in the legal field, the Journal reported, and their lawsuit alleges "dubious calculations and deliberate omissions” about jobs data by Cooley.
Cooley officials called the claims “simply baseless” in a written statement, according to the Journal.
The data isn’t an issue just at Cooley, but at all law schools, one attorney told the Journal. While American Bar Association rules call for law schools to report post-graduate employment, it does not require them to distinguish whether their alumni are employed in the legal profession or a different field, the Journal reported. Also, only self-reported salary data is required, which tends to skew toward higher wage-earners, the report said.
The ABA is currently reconsidering its reporting requirements, the Journal reported.
The "real" employment number among law school graduates “would shock people,” attorney David Anziska told the Journal. He is with the New York firm Kurzon Strauss, which is representing the plaintiffs.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
SOURCE:
Lansing State Journal, “4 grads sue Cooley for $250M; saying job-finding, salary number inflated,” Aug. 11, 2011
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, “Michigan has oversupply of new teachers,” Aug. 9, 2011
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