Lawyer offers scholarship for non-law students

CHICAGO, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- A Chicago lawyer said he is offering a $1,000 "Anything But Law School Graduate Scholarship" for students who agree not to seek legal degrees.

Matthew Willens, a personal injury attorney who teaches at Loyola University Chicago's law school, said he decided to offer the scholarship because some law schools are "pumping out more lawyers than there are lawyer jobs," the Chicago Tribune reported in Thursday's print edition.

Willens, who said he is planning to award one scholarship per year to a student attending non-legal graduate school, said law school graduates who are unable to find jobs are opening their own practices and taking on clients despite a lack of experience.

"They're hanging a shingle and they just really don't know what they're doing," Willens said. "From a selfish perspective, it doesn't help the profession. It's a black eye."

"Some of the brightest people in the country are graduating with no real chance of becoming a quality lawyer," he said.