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Boston Globe
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
‘A safer move': Massachusetts law schools see record applications amid economic uncertainty
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Getting a JD or a professional degree now feels like such a safer move,' said Lily Power, a political science undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst graduating in May. She has shifted her longtime plans of pursuing a PhD in political science to applying to law schools next year. Advertisement 'After seeing funding being cut, academia doesn't feel like a good field to go into right now,' Power said. 'Part of me wants to still pursue it, but I have to think about my own stability too.' Many of Power's professors are promoting law school, she said, to avoid the uncertainty around higher education while still pursuing a related career that can make a difference. After seeing Trump administration attacks on immigration, Advertisement The last peak in law school applications came in 2021, when the COVID pandemic and lockdowns were ravaging the economy. Since then, applications nationwide ticked down, before this year's spike. This year's rise in applications means law school hopefuls are facing even stiffer competition. At Boston College Law School, applications reached an all-time high this year with 7,668 people vying for roughly 215 spots, a spokesperson said. The applicant pool size is a 20 percent increase compared with last year's. Boston University School of Law had an even larger jump, one of the largest in the state, with approximately 30 percent more applicants in 2025 than in 2024, a spokesperson said. Harvard Law School, meanwhile, saw a similar increase of roughly 20 percent after receiving more than 8,700 applications this year, a 20-percent bump, said Kristi Jobson, assistant dean for admissions and chief admissions officer, compared with 7,235 last year. At UMass Law, applications increased nearly 22 percent this year compared with last, said Sam Panarella, the law school's dean. Three main forces are likely driving the spike, in Panarella's view: an increase in perceived importance of the law amid news coverage of Trump-related constitutional issues; heightened feelings of uncertainty about jobs and the economy; and the recent removal of the much-dreaded 'logic games' section from the Law School Admission Test. Amid economic instability, he said, graduating students and career-switchers see law school as a 'professional school that has a job at the end of it that feels certain to some degree.' Advertisement Indeed, law school has traditionally represented a solid path to relatively high-paying employment. By last spring, nearly 86 percent of the prior year's law school graduates had full-time legal jobs, according to However, even before Trump took office, legal industry observers were predicting employment numbers beginning with the class of 2024 were likely to look less positive. Nikia Gray, executive director of the National Association for Law Placement, said in a last year that pandemic-era hiring booms at law firms were slowing, and 'there are suggestions in the data that the market is starting to contract and that future classes may not fare as well.' Across New England, students are reconsidering their plans and seeing law school as a smart career move. Applications in the region jumped 22 percent this year compared with the previous cycle. University of Vermont senior Lucas Martineau has been passionate about work that focuses on the intersection of public service and culture for years. A recent job posting for a program manager in Boston's Office Arts and Culture would be a 'dream job' a few years down the road, he said, but as he prepares to cross the graduation stage, banking on opportunities like that one still existing in the future feels like a larger gamble than before. The University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt., in 2020. Charles Krupa/Associated Press 'In a way, it feels like this administration had hit me directly,' said Martineau, who will graduate this May with a bachelor's degree in political science, art history, and psychology. 'Law school feels like the closest thing that's still safe.' Advertisement Amid the uncertainty and federal a job where he can make an impact on people's lives while still having relative job security. 'Having a pathway to be able to make actionable change, after graduating first in a pandemic and second in a potential recession, is really top of mind for me,' Martineau said. The decision to pivot to law school in the hopes of a secure career that is also fulfilling is a well-founded one, said Andrew Perlman, dean of Suffolk Law, which saw a 20-percent jump this year. 'For economic and job stability, legal careers have long been a great path,' Perlman said. 'It's a good investment.' Maren Halpin can be reached at
CBS News
31-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Biography explores how former Massachusetts Congresswoman Margaret Heckler changed politics
The groundbreaking political career of late Massachusetts Congresswoman Margaret Heckler is the subject of a new biography by her daughter-in-law. The book "A Woman of Firsts: Margaret Heckler, Political Trailblazer," written by Kimberly Heckler, explores the late Republican congresswoman's legacy and achievements, including her signature Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which gave women the right to credit in their own name 50 years ago. Heckler, who died in 2018, represented Massachusetts's 10th congressional district from the late 60s until 1983 in a career that spanned five presidencies. The book highlights her accomplishments in the male-dominated world of politics and details her work behind the scenes to pave a path forward for generations of women to come. "She really spearheaded a launching pad, specifically for women, to be able to be placed in positions that they never occupied before," Kimberly Heckler said. "Although she was quoted as being one of the most powerful women in America in 1983, along with Sandra Day O'Connor, her story has not been told." Heckler was the only woman in American history to earn a triple crown in politics. After serving in the House of Representatives, she was Secretary for Health and Human Services under President Ronald Reagan and later became the country's first woman ambassador to Ireland. "The book really is about a child that was given away at birth by Irish immigrant parents during the Great Depression in New York City. And then, of course, she was the only woman in her law school class at Boston College Law School," her daughter-in-law said. President Gerald Ford signed Congresswoman Heckler's Equal Credit Opportunity Act into law in 1974. "It wouldn't be until 1975, 50 years ago now, that women got to walk into a Macy's with a credit card and not be denied because their father or husband weren't there to co-sign," Kimberly Heckler said. "It's hard to imagine for young women today, what it was like to be in a situation where you literally couldn't have a loan in your own name, you couldn't have a mortgage in your own name," Linda Bilmes, a professor at Harvard Kennedy School and the congresswoman's former press secretary, said. Congresswoman Heckler also co-sponsored Title IX and the Equal Rights Amendment. "She was a remarkable person who rose from poverty to break barriers," Bilmes said. "Margaret Heckler is a woman that Americans should know about." Kimberly Heckler said it took 10 years to write the biography about her mother-in-law. It was released in February and is available at major bookstores. "I want people to be inspired and encouraged by her story. To know, look into the life of Margaret Heckler and see what you can accomplish with compassion and with a life of excellence," she said.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘A woman of firsts': Late Mass. Congresswoman's accomplishments outlined in new book
During Women's History Month, a new book is taking a closer look at a local pioneer, Margaret Heckler. She was the first congresswoman in Massachusetts, the first female Health and Human Services Secretary, and the first female ambassador to Ireland. Now her life is being celebrated in a new book titled 'A Woman of Firsts: Margaret Heckler, Political Trailblazer' written by her daughter-in-law, Kimberly Heckler. 'She was a woman in a man's world and a Republican and a democratic state,' said author Kimberly Heckler. Born to Irish immigrant parents in New York, Margaret Heckler was given away at birth and grew up in a boarding house. She was the only woman in her graduating class from Boston College Law School in 1956. With her sights on politics, her husband suggested she run as a Republican. 'So she would be a moderate Republican, coming in in 1966 and beating out a 42-year veteran incumbent Joseph W. Martin, who had served as Speaker of the House twice,' said Kimberly. 'So here comes 35-year-old five foot-two and strawberry blond Margaret Heckler.' Heckler represented District 10 during the second wave of feminism in the 70s—-as a daughter-in-law, Kimberly Heckler outlines in her book—'A Woman of Firsts'. 'She was a lawyer and a congresswoman and couldn't get credit cards in her own name,' said Kimberly Heckler. So Heckler authored the Equal Credit Opportunity Act--granting women the right to receive credit. She co-sponsored Title Nine and the Equal Rights Amendment, and she pushed President Ronald Reagan to appoint the first female Supreme Court Justice—Sandra Day O'Connor. 'And he would say later that it was one of his greatest decisions that he made being President of the United States,' said Kimberly Heckler. Margaret Heckler served under Reagan as the first Health and Human Services Secretary during the AIDS pandemic. She was also the first female ambassador to Ireland. 'She is an American success story, and she is a historical figure that people need to look at today, especially in light of our times that she was so bipartisan, she crossed the aisle easily, and her best friends were on the left, actually, in Congress,' said Kimberly Heckler. 'She is a perfect example for people who have to stand up and continue to fight,' said Senator Ed Markey. Senator Ed Markey was a friend and one of more than 130 people interviewed in the book. 'I think that would be her message to this generation, just keep moving forward,' said Senator Markey. 'If you get knocked down, get up because America gives you that opportunity to go fight for the things you believe in.' Heckler's daughter-in-law remembers her as someone who always persevered—-and followed their dreams. 'The story of Margaret Heckler is always about when she was in a situation, whether it was Congresswoman, HHS Cabinet Secretary or ambassador, it was the why not that she would want to say to all Americans that there's no reason to keep things as status quo,' said Kimberly Heckler. 'It's time to move forward and make change.' Margaret Heckler commissioned the Heckler report in 1985—which studied the health disparities among minorities and led to the creation of the Office of Minority Health. She also expanded hospice care for all Americans under Medicare. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
