Once considered a lucrative career, the practice of law is undergoing far-reaching changes that call into question the future of all except top-tier law schools.
In Japan, the new bar exam has resulted in a steep increase in the overall number of lawyers to some 35,000 this spring. This compares with 22,000 in 2001. Tinkering with the cutoff score has driven down the number of those passing the bar this year to 1,810, the first time since 2006 that the number has fallen below 2,000.
But redesigning the bar exam has not solved the problems of the huge number of newly licensed lawyers who cannot find legal work. That sends a discouraging message to the best and brightest students who in the past wanted nothing more than to become lawyers.