Chronicle of Higher Education:  America’s Longest-Serving Law Dean Defends the Value of a Law Degree:

Rudy Hasl, the longest-serving law dean in America, is stepping down
June 30 as dean and president of Thomas Jefferson School of Law, in San
Diego. Mr. Hasl, who is 70, has spent 32 years overseeing law schools at
Thomas Jefferson and at Saint Louis, St. John’s, and Seattle
Universities. He has held leadership positions in the American Bar Association, the
Association of American Law Schools, and the Law School Admission
Council. Mr. Hasl leaves at a time of intense scrutiny of law schools’
curricula and high price, and amid questions about the employment
prospects of graduates. Here’s his story, as told to Katherine Mangan. …

There’s been a great deal of coverage in the national press that has
underestimated the value of a law degree and caused potential applicants
to question whether they should make the investment in a legal
education.

I remind students that what law schools are providing is a set of
skills that are valued in our society and that will ultimately lead to a
meaningful employment opportunity. To try to measure that by what job
you have on graduation, or even nine months later, doesn’t make sense.

I tell students you’re investing in something that provides you the
ability to shape your career. That could be in business, in the
political arena, or in traditional law-firm settings. I was a classics
major, and there’s no market directly for someone in classics, but it’s a
foundational training that hopefully makes one better at analyzing
problems and articulating a position.

• ABA Journal, Nine-Month Job Stats Don’t Measure Value of Law Degree, Retiring Dean Says
• Above the Law, Outgoing Law School Dean Tries To Slip In One Last Dumb Comment
• Law School Tuition Bubble, Chronicle Publishes Law School Dean’s Argument From Authority