All Hail the Mighty FICO Score!

Fastweb recently posted a terrifying article: Excessive Debt Bars Students from Law Careers.  It's terrifying because it's true.

The first student profiled in the article, Hassan Johnathan Griffin, is being denied permission to take the bar because he has racked up $170,000 in student debt. Mind you, $150,000 of that was for attending law school. He still had a little undergraduate debt, but it was a pittance compared to the law school debt, proportionally.  He also has just over $16,000 in credit card debt. Read the full opinion.

What burns me about this scenario is that Griffin is currently working in the public defender's office, making $12 an hour.  Doesn't take a genius to understand why he racked up over $16,000 in credit card debt - no one can live off of $12 an hour - not even a law student. So, he is being denied admission to the bar because he

• got an education without being a burden on his family;
• has dedicated his working time to public defense; 
• refuses to survive on a steady diet of ramen noodles and day-old baloney sandwiches.  

What an irresponsible slacker! The stupidest part of all is that he wants to work in the public defender's office, meaning most if not all of his law school loans will be forgiven anyway!  

(Note: A number of people have commented that he was denied the ability to sit for the bar not because of his outstanding debts, but because of his inability or lack of a plan to repay them. However, that isn't really the case in the opinion.  The court finds fault with the fact that he chose to work part-time at the Public Defender's office, rather than get rehired as a stockbroker. His intention was to get full-time employment at the PD's office after he passed the bar.  So, the court basically told Griffin that in order to be allowed to sit for the bar he should go back to work as a stockbroker and pay off his loans. The opinion never discusses the fact that Griffin will likely never owe on those loans due to loan repayment forgiveness. They stuck him in a Catch-22; keep doing what you love in the law and never be a lawyer, or give up working in the law in order to become a lawyer).

So, having a lot of student debt is indicative that a person lacks "the requisite character, fitness, and moral qualifications for admission to the practice of law"? Nevermind the fact that Griffin's parents were both civil rights activists, and his sole desire for going to law school was to help the indigent. That isn't indicative of good moral character?  Smooth move, Ohio Supreme Court. Way to encourage people to finance their own educations, and provide the government much needed money off of interest payments.

And yes - it could happen to you! The bigger issue is how much we have let the 3 major credit companies take control over our futures in this country.  Anyone can be denied loans for having bad credit (obviously), but these days you can also be denied jobs and housing because of questions about your credit. Nevermind the fact that identity theft is rampant, the economy has forced many people to use their credit cards as a means of subsistence, and credit reporting agencies screw up.  Alot.  Now, we can even be denied the opportunity to sit for a professional exam if we have a high debt/income ratio.  This is absurd.  Our debt is high because of law school tuition. The moral?  Only people who can afford to go to law school and pay out of pocket should be allowed the right.  Lower-and Middle-Class applicants need not apply. 

Can you tell that I'm disgusted by this? So, basically, let this article serve as a warning to get your financial affairs in order before you need to sit for the bar.  I never used to think that having law school debt would be a negative when applying to practice law, but then again, I'm not an idiot.  Granted, this isn't just about Griffin.  It's about the fact that having a negative credit history could make your law school career worthless. So, be sure to clean it up.

Check out these tips for paying off your debt quicker. The sooner you do this in your law school careers, the better.  And be sure to watch out for that credit, folks, because things like divorce, identity theft, family medical problems, or housing purchases could mean that you're unfit, and immoral! Who knew?