{"id":3292,"date":"2017-11-07T14:55:17","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T19:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/?p=3292"},"modified":"2019-04-23T15:44:12","modified_gmt":"2019-04-23T19:44:12","slug":"casting-a-net-gain-for-law-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/casting-a-net-gain-for-law-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Casting a Net Gain for Law Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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We\u2019ve all heard the old adage: give a man a fish, and he\u2019ll eat for a day, but teach a man to fish, and he\u2019ll never be hungry again. It was with that in mind that MAX by AccessLex\u00ae<\/sup>\u00a0was designed, to be a sort of personal finance bait and tackle box, if you will. A first-of-its-kind comprehensive, innovative and effective financial education program created expressly for law students. With its in-depth curriculum and multi-faceted approach, MAX was built to drive the knowledge gain and behavior change essential to making sound financial decisions while in school \u2014 and in life.<\/p>

Because at a time when complaints about student loan servicers jumped more than 300% in the first three months of this year compared with the same period a year ago, and the nation\u2019s largest student loan servicer is on record as saying, \u201cThere is no expectation that the servicer will act in the interest of the consumer,\u201d loan counseling has never been more needed.<\/p>

And yet, debt management isn\u2019t the whole story. Law students need an education in personal finance that lays the foundation for making informed financial decisions, about student loans and about so much more. But, law school is an investment, and often a tremendously expensive one. And students need to understand the short- and long-term implications of the decisions they are making.<\/p>

In other words, law students need to learn how to fish.<\/p>

Of course, creating a program to improve financial capability among students in any discipline is obviously a good idea, but a lot of things look good on paper. We knew that to truly make this an impactful resource, we had to get into the heads of our specific end users: law students. We had to know what they wanted and needed in a program like this. And we had to learn what would keep them engaged.<\/p>

So, we asked them.<\/p>

We initiated a pilot program to test specific program elements and delivery mechanisms with more than\u00a05,000 law students and administrators\u00a0<\/strong>at over\u00a040 law schools<\/strong>\u00a0contributing to focus groups and surveys.<\/p>

Participants generously offered their insight on everything from financial knowledge and current financial behaviors to what schools and students want \u2013 and need \u2013 in a personal finance program.<\/p>

The feedback was outstanding \u2014 and very revealing. Of the students surveyed:<\/p>