????當(dāng)你詢問(wèn)一位法學(xué)院院長(zhǎng)持續(xù)遭受抨擊是什么感覺(jué)，而他反問(wèn)了一個(gè)問(wèn)題的時(shí)候，你就知道，這些院校確實(shí)碰到了大麻煩。

????“你所說(shuō)的‘遭受抨擊’到底是在說(shuō)什么？”芝加哥約翰?馬歇爾法學(xué)院(John Marshall Law School)院長(zhǎng)約翰?科克里反問(wèn)道。“我們討論的到底是來(lái)自哪一方面的抨擊？”

????大家不能責(zé)怪他對(duì)準(zhǔn)確性的追求。事實(shí)是，近些年來(lái)，隨著就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)日益稀缺，新鮮出爐的法學(xué)博士畢業(yè)生的失業(yè)率不斷飆升，法學(xué)院的境遇已不僅僅是“失寵”二字所能形容。這些院校已經(jīng)成為最被人看不起的大學(xué)院系。

????一提到律師，大多數(shù)人總會(huì)想起一些痛苦的經(jīng)歷：一場(chǎng)不公平的訴訟，離婚等等。但至少以前的攻擊來(lái)自行業(yè)之外，而近年來(lái)涌現(xiàn)的大量批評(píng)聲音則出自業(yè)內(nèi)人士，基本上以法學(xué)院教授和畢業(yè)生為主。不少教授承認(rèn)，法學(xué)院培養(yǎng)的律師數(shù)量供過(guò)于求，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超出了市場(chǎng)的消化能力；大量的畢業(yè)生現(xiàn)在背負(fù)著高達(dá)六位數(shù)的債務(wù)負(fù)擔(dān)，而且找不到專業(yè)對(duì)口的工作。

????科克里所在的法學(xué)院已經(jīng)因涉嫌美化就業(yè)前景被該校畢業(yè)生起訴。不過(guò)，當(dāng)我問(wèn)科克里是否認(rèn)為自己的處境很艱難時(shí)，他話鋒一轉(zhuǎn)，說(shuō)道：“我正在思考的批評(píng)意見是，現(xiàn)在上法學(xué)院的學(xué)生比以前少多了?！?/p>

????科克里首先列舉了一個(gè)困擾法學(xué)院、而不是畢業(yè)生的問(wèn)題，這的確耐人尋味。但有一件事他倒是說(shuō)到點(diǎn)子上了，那就是：法學(xué)院正在疲于應(yīng)對(duì)來(lái)自四面八方的猛烈抨擊。

????過(guò)去的三年中，媒體針對(duì)法學(xué)院發(fā)起了一波又一波攻勢(shì)，而且樂(lè)此不疲?！都~約時(shí)報(bào)》(The New York Times)曾經(jīng)報(bào)道過(guò)一位背負(fù)25萬(wàn)美元貸款的畢業(yè)生，還為這篇文章起了這樣一個(gè)標(biāo)題：“讀法學(xué)院是一場(chǎng)注定要失敗的游戲嗎？”談到這位畢業(yè)生時(shí)，《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》寫道，“他的秘密（如果用這個(gè)詞合適的話）是，每天基本上忽略來(lái)自十幾位債權(quán)人的電話和信函，這些人現(xiàn)在整天追著他討債?！必?cái)經(jīng)新聞網(wǎng)站《商業(yè)內(nèi)幕》(Business Insider )最近一篇報(bào)道的標(biāo)題則更加犀利：“我認(rèn)為上法學(xué)院純粹是浪費(fèi)生命，大把大把地?zé)X。”盡管這篇文章刻畫的主人公畢業(yè)于一所排名位列前20的法學(xué)院，但他現(xiàn)在也被沉重的債務(wù)壓得痛苦不堪。“我還沒(méi)有成家，沒(méi)有掙到體面的工資，令人愉悅的生活方式更是遙不可及。這一切全是當(dāng)初選擇上法學(xué)院惹的禍，”他寫道。“我甚至都不忍心詛咒我的死對(duì)頭遭遇我就讀法學(xué)院的經(jīng)歷。”

????為什么大家專挑法學(xué)院說(shuō)事？畢竟，最近這波經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退給美國(guó)人留下了太多太多值得抱怨的事情。（科克里漫不經(jīng)心地指出，新聞學(xué)院畢業(yè)生的日子也不好過(guò)。）

????有一種理論很簡(jiǎn)單：法學(xué)院畢業(yè)生招人嫉妒。加州大學(xué)歐文分校(University of California, Irvine)法學(xué)教授布萊恩特?加思曾經(jīng)撰寫過(guò)一份研究報(bào)告，探討法學(xué)院畢業(yè)生為什么產(chǎn)生“購(gòu)買后悔癥” (buyer’ remorse)。在他看來(lái)，憎恨法學(xué)院的那些人僅僅是希望看到領(lǐng)跑者最終遭遇失敗的那一幕。

????“在這個(gè)國(guó)家，法律學(xué)位一直是青年才俊的不二選擇。走出校園后，他們要么經(jīng)商，要么從政，要么獨(dú)立執(zhí)業(yè)。總之，法學(xué)院畢業(yè)生擁有非常廣闊的人生舞臺(tái)，”加思說(shuō)。“幾乎每一位雄心勃勃的年輕人都會(huì)考慮要不要去讀法學(xué)院?！爆F(xiàn)在宣稱這些學(xué)霸的專業(yè)選擇自始至終都是錯(cuò)的，或許會(huì)讓人感到非常愜意。

????You know law schools are deeply troubled when you ask a dean what it feels like to be under constant fire and he answers the question with a question of his own.

????"When you say 'coming under fire,' what are we really talking about?" asks John Corkery, dean of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. "Which fire are we talking about?"

????You can't blame him for seeking clarity. Truth is, law schools have not merely fallen out of favor in recent years, as jobs have become scarce and unemployment among freshly minted JD graduates has soared. Law schools have become the most despised part of the academy.

????Most people associate lawyers with misery: an unfair lawsuit, a divorce. But at least previous attacks had come from outside of the profession. In recent years, plenty of criticism has come from insiders, mostly law school professors who acknowledge that schools have supplied far too many lawyers than the market can absorb, and from graduates who now carry six-figure debt loads and can't get jobs in law.

????Corkery's school has been sued by its graduates for embellishing employment prospects. When asked if he considers his position difficult, though, he deflects: "The fire I'm thinking of is that there are a lot less people going to law school," he says.

????It's telling that Corkery first lists a problem that afflicts the schools rather than the graduates. He's on the mark about one thing, though: Law schools are trying to put out fires from all directions.

????For the past three years, the media has picked up the attacks with relish. The New York Times, in an article on a graduate with $250,000 in loans, put it this way: "Is Law School a Losing Game?" Referring to the graduate, the Times wrote, "His secret, if that's the right word, is to pretty much ignore all the calls and letters that he receives every day from the dozen or so creditors now hounding him for cash," writes the author. Or consider this blunt headline from a recent Business Insider article: "'I Consider Law School A Waste Of My Life And An Extraordinary Waste Of Money.'" Even though the graduate profiled in the piece had a degree from a Top 20 law school, he's now bitterly mired in debt. "Because I went to law school, I don't see myself having a family, earning a comfortable wage, or having an enjoyable lifestyle," he writes. "I wouldn't wish my law school experience on my enemy."

????Why are law schools being singled out? After all, the recent recession left Americans with an endless supply of things to complain about. (Corkery casually noted that journalism school graduates aren't doing that well, either.)

????One theory is simple: everyone's jealous. Bryant Garth, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine who helped author a study on buyers' remorse among law school graduates, suggests that law school haters just want to see the frontrunners fail.

????"The law degree has always been, in this country, the default degree for ambitious and talented people, who've then gone into business, have gone into politics, gone into law practice, gone into a whole range of areas," Garth says. "And basically everybody who is ambitious thinks about whether or not they want to go to law school." Perhaps it's satisfying to proclaim that those know-it-alls have been making the wrong choice all along.