Santa Clara, CA: Students enrolled at a law school in California are alleging consumer fraud by the school stating it falsifies post-graduation employment numbers in order to encourage students to enroll. However, many students remain unemployed once they've completed their studies.
Specifically, the school advertises in national publications that 80.1% of all students received law-related jobs within nine months of graduation. Yet according to a blog published by that school, law professor blog The Faculty Lounge, only 28.8% of the Class of 2012 was employed in full-time, long-term positions requiring bar admission. This puts the school at a ranking of 192 out of 197 law schools.
The students, who have filed a lawsuit, heard the judge rule that the suit against Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL) can proceed. Four former students joined in the class action after not receiving law-related employment within the TJSL advertised nine months following-graduation. They claim, among other things, negligence, intentional fraud, and negligent misrepresentation.
Several similar suits have been filed against law schools including Florida Costal, Hofstra Law, Cooley Law School, and DePaul University and have all been dismissed by state courts. The case against Thomas Jefferson is among the first to proceed to trial.
These types of lawsuits are not uncommon. In 2013, a $13 million settlement was awarded by a jury hearing a consumer fraud lawsuit against Vatterott College. Jennifer Kerr, a 42-year old single mother, sued the college alleging its enrollment procedures caused her to spend thousands of dollars and extra time earning a certificate that proved to be useless in the job market.
