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I think that a law degree can be a terrific investment for those who just want to focus on their deep analytical skill development and critical thinking skills. But I don’t know that I would recommend a three-year law degree unless you think you want to be a lawyer. It’s a lot of time and money if you’re not looking to practice.
If a full three-year degree isn’t necessary for your professional goals and a one-year degree might meet them, that may make a lot of sense from a cost perspective — both the cost of the degree but also the opportunity cost of that extra time.
— Dean Jennifer Mnookin of UCLA Law School, getting realistic about the cost of a law degree amid the rise of technology, in an interview with CNBC Make It. Given technology’s disruption of the legal profession, with about 23 percent of work done by lawyers having been automated, prospective law students must reassess their goals.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.