To the Editor:

Re “Law School Is Worth the Money” (Op-Ed, Nov. 29):

I have no doubt that Lawrence E. Mitchell, dean of Case Western Reserve University’s law school, sincerely believes in the value of law school, but his arguments do not match the reality of the world as this lawyer for 17 years sees it. The job market for new lawyers remains abysmal, and that will not change for several years. There are far too many lawyers chasing too few jobs.

Yes, the top 10 percent from good schools will always find work, but that excludes the vast majority of law school graduates. While a very small number of people with J.D.’s flourish in other fields, I have yet to hear any significant number of them credit their legal education for that success. Three years of legal education and $125,000 of debt hardly makes sense if you want to become a banker, art director or nonprofit director.

Law schools continue to raise tuition considerably in excess of inflation, paying deans and professors very nicely along the way. In large part, the schools are not providing the training that benefits law firms, so we begin with new graduates who largely lack useful skills. I’d prefer to hear how law schools will fix the problems rather than a full-throated defense of the indefensible.

JAMES D. SMITH

Phoenix, Nov. 29, 2012

To the Editor:

Lawrence E. Mitchell trots out salary means and medians to justify an investment in law school. But let’s cross-examine him on the risk.