Last week news spread around the blogosphere and some major media sites that the American Bar Association (ABA) had put out an official statement urging students to carefully consider the return on investment when thinking about attending law school. Sounds like a smart, responsible thing for the ABA to do, given the number of recent JD grads still looking for work and some of the negative attention that law schools have received in recent years for not being upfront enough with prospective students about their post-graduation job prospects.

The only catch, as Above the Law pointed out last week, the ABA actually published that document back in November, 2009. Maybe it took a while for the message to sink in?

We do recommend that you read the document (it’s only four pages) if you’re considering applying to law school. But, keep in mind that it was written in what was already a very different time, a bit over a year ago, when you could barely keep track of all of the layoffs happening in the legal field. The statement is better than a “CYA” piece to show that the organization is at least doing something to get the word out about the risks associated with taking one six-figure debts in pursuit of a JD. But, it’s mostly full of common sense that we hope our law school admissions consulting clients and regular blog readers already have in large amounts.

Perhaps Above the Law’s Elie Mystal sums it up best:

If you haven’t ever seen it or heard about, please do click on some of the links below and take a look. But if you’re waiting for a bold new approach from the ABA that deals with how some accredited law schools are taking advantage of students during a tight legal market, this isn’t exactly what you’re looking for.

So, the “buyer beware” maxim still holds for anyone considering a JD (or an MBA, or an MD…), just as it did back in 2009, when the ABA put out this document, and just as it always has for as long as people have been borrowing large sums of money to pay for anything, anywhere.

Thinking about applying to law school? If the old ABA statement hasn’t scared you off, give us a call at (800) 925-7737 and speak with a law school admissions expert today. And, don’t forget to find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!