Lately, much has been made about the high cost of legal education. Many law school graduates are being greeted with a difficult job market and a mountain of student loan debt. One proposed solution to the issue of cost has been the elimination of a year of law school. The rationale is twofold. Firstly, most law students would likely tell you that they did as little as possible during their 3L years. Secondly, by lopping off a third of law school, you would also lop off a year’s worth of tuition.

Well now President Obama has gotten in on the action, suggesting that law schools look into the elimination of the 3L year. The reactions have been mixed. As far as the potential efficacy of this approach to cost reduction, I can speak only to my own experience as a law student.