Demand for a legal education remains high, despite odds stacking against it.

Tuition has risen for the 2010-2011 school year at law schools across the country, even as industry jobs disappear by the month. The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows 3,900 jobs were cut from the legal sector in June alone, capping off a year of 22,200 job losses.

But concurrently, more LSAT tests were administered in the most recent testing year than ever before. From June 2009 to February 2010, 171,514 tests were given out, a 13.3% increase from the previous testing year. ...

With demand and cost climbing higher and job prospects diminishing, what's happening to the value of a legal education? The answer is questionable, at least for the J.D. credential itself, says Bill Henderson, law professor at the Indiana University—Bloomington's Maurer School of Law. "I think [law school] makes you a better problem solver, but the signaling value [of the degree] is diluted," Henderson says. "Is it worth $50,000 a year? I think, for signaling value, the answer is increasingly 'no.'"

Henderson noted that in this economic climate, even a degree from a top school does not guarantee a legal job. But California-based law school admissions consultant Ann Levine says that dimming job prospects and increasingly high tuition have yet to deter her nationwide client pool from seeking elite placements. "I had thought people would be more concerned about scholarships and willing to let go of ranking a little bit; I was wrong," says Levine. "Still, people want to generally go to the best law school they can get into, regardless of costs."

One of Levine's clients, Oriana Pietrangelo, turned down several full rides for a partial scholarship this fall to Notre Dame Law School, a top tier school whose "name goes fairly far," she says. "It would have been nice to not have any debt," Pietrangelo says. "But I feel like I'm more likely to have a better job and higher paying salary going to Notre Dame as opposed to somewhere else." But Pietrangelo is not yet devoted to Notre Dame Law School. She is on the waitlist at Northwestern University School of Law and, if accepted, she plans to attend and pay full tuition, she says, because it is ranked higher than Notre Dame.

Escalating tuition prices in a troubled market, spurred onward by generous student loans and students who are not fully committed to the profession, is a dangerous bubble that may well burst, Indiana University—Bloomington's Henderson says. ... "I think the only solution to this is to make sure that [if] we're charging $150,000, the skills that we impart have to map onto the job demand," Henderson says.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, law school officials unanimously voiced continued support for ambitious students choosing a legal education, especially when curricula embrace the changing tides of the professional market. Says Arizona State [Dean Paul] Berman, "I think that law school remains a great investment because of the kinds of analytical skills law school teaches—whether you end up practicing at a law firm, or going into business, or going into government."