Greetings. I am Matt Leichter (pronounced lie-shtr), an attorney licensed in Wisconsin and New York. I received my J.D.-M.A. in law and international affairs from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2008 and 2009 respectively and spent a semester and summer of law school at Temple University’s Tokyo campus in 2007. Before law school, I taught English at Omiya High School in Saitama, Japan for two years. I started the Law School Tuition Bubble in May of 2010 primarily to maintain my skills from both my legal and graduate educations, which seemed a better use of my time than playing Tetris while listening to garage rock all day when I was unemployed.
You really do need to see Guitar Wolf's zombie movie, 'Wild Zero'.
To answer your question, I do not regret going to law school; rather, I regret everyone else did. Joking aside, I enjoyed learning what I did, though my temperament is more a graduate student’s than a law student’s. Readers may also notice that I’ve never written pseudonymously (though I refer to myself as “LSTB” throughout as a shorthand). I chose that path because I felt it would strengthen my style, personalize the blog, and allow me to more freely draw from my background in East Asia and social sciences training. For those reasons, I hope the doodles and interest in rock & roll amuse readers. Contrary to what one might think, being open about my identity has helped my current career as a writer based in Brooklyn, New York. Since I write about student debt, I also add that my personal financial position is better than most current law school graduates. You can reach me at matt [dot] leichter [at] gmail [dot] com.
The Law School Tuition Bubble is technically not a law school scamblog, but after a few months I found myself allied with them over many substantive issues. However, though my opinions and tone can be quite passionate and critical of individuals’ work, the emotional source of this website is professional, not personal.
As to the blog’s title, I draw some of my inspiration from Dean Baker’s indispensible Beat the Press. Dr. Baker takes upon himself the thankless task of educating the public on macroeconomics, frequently criticizing the majority of economists who didn’t see the $8 trillion housing bubble that wrecked the U.S. economy. Like the housing bubble, the law school tuition bubble is under-reported and unacknowledged by people who should know better. The Law School Tuition Bubble will continuously archive, chronicle, and analyze the tuition bubble, and the American legal education system. It is also a platform for student debt reform. Tangentially, although I am a staunch advocate for novel blog titles (and legal terminology affords many witty opportunities), I feel this blog’s narrow focus necessitates a simple searchable name. Thus, I cede SpecificPerformance.com to nimbler legal minds.
This blog has gone further than I expected it would when it began. I direct readers to read the contents in the “ORIGINAL RESEARCH (UPDATED)” tab at the top of the blog. It contains my research, and unlike the blog posts they are based on, I update them as new data become available or if they contain any errors. Those wishing to cite anything in the LSTB should cite the relevant page on the topic.
For those interested, here’s a link to some of the music I’ve listened to in a category called, “No Bubble—Just ROCK!!”
For Tetris junkies, I recommend firstpersontetris.com, especially its “Night Mode.”
