The New Reality of Law School
Can students afford to follow their passion?
By: Bryan Terry
As those who have taken it know, passing the bar exam requires passion, dedication and mental acuity. But even the best and brightest can struggle when it comes to the cost of a law degree today. UMKC Law is working to change this story.
Long gone are the days when a student could attend school full time, work a job on the side and graduate with little or no debt. As the UMKC School of Law has continued to increase its offerings, improve infrastructure and attract and retain skilled faculty, the cost of tuition has risen to meet those needs.
In 1950, the cost of attending law school at the then University of Kansas City was $10 per credit hour. That same $10 in 1950 would be worth around $130 in 2024. However, the resident cost per credit hour for an incoming J.D. student at UMKC in the 2024-25 academic year is $752.40, a nearly 480% increase compared to the inflation-adjusted price. And when fees are included, the cost per credit hour increase exceeds 500% in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Faced with this high cost, students seek scholarships when they are able, but many also must take out loans. UMKC has been working hard to find new and innovative ways to help students make their law degree affordable.
In the 2022-23 academic year, 85% of UMKC Law students received scholarship money to help fund their education. The School of Law is proud to report another five point increase in the 2024-25 academic year with 90% of the 1L class receiving scholarship support. Nevertheless, two-thirds of those grants covered less than half of their tuition.
These costs may not only deter students from seeking a law school education, but may also force those who do attend to make decisions after graduation based primarily on their ability to repay loans.
Mira Mdivani (J.D. ’99), past president of the Kansas Bar Association and founder of the Mdivani Corporate Immigration Law Firm in Overland Park, Kansas, has witnessed this firsthand. She has remained involved with the school since her own graduation from UMKC, teaching as an adjunct professor and serving as a trustee of the UMKC Law Foundation. She frequently brings in students to work with her firm.
“We have law clerks, and I talk to students; they come with an incredible amount of debt from their undergraduate education,” said Mdivani. “By the time they’re in law school, some of them have $100,000 in debt."
The School of Law has found dedicated support among its alumni to offer additional and larger scholarships to recruit and help pay for the education of Kansas City’s next generation of exceptional law professionals. As of 2022 data, 11.27% of law school alumni with an address on file supported UMKC Law through financial contributions. That was the largest participation rate of any school or college at UMKC at the time, and a testament to the pride law alumni from every generation feel for their shared alma mater.
A.J. Falcone yearbook photo from 1955 (left) and at the Spring 2024 hooding ceremony (right).
Attending Law School, Then and Now
“I think it’s improved a lot,” said Angelo “A.J.” Falcone (LL.B. ’55), who attended what was then the University of Kansas City School of Law in the 1950s. “Not that there was anything wrong with it back then, but it’s got the courtrooms now … I think with time, it’s just gotten better.”
Despite being nearly 70 years removed from the days of his own graduation, Falcone has a fresh perspective of what’s offered through the law school today. This past May, his grandson, Alec Ebersole (LL.M. ’24), completed his Master of Laws, joining the ranks of the alma mater and becoming the second in the family to study law.
“I worked my way through school,” said Falcone. “Part of the time I worked at the grocery store, and the last year of law school I worked as clerk for a small law firm downtown, as a full-time clerk basically. I paid for everything.”
“I’m not in the same boat,” said Ebersole.
He worked part time as a server while attending school and even received a scholarship, but said it wasn’t enough to cover the majority of his tuition.
“I had to take a loan like a lot of people, and I’ll have to pay it back — but if you see it as an investment, it kind of makes more sense. It will be repaid.” said Ebersole.
Law School and Loans Through the Decades
Borrowing money to pay for school is by no means a new practice, but it has grown in commonality over the decades.
Former county legislator, past Jackson County executive and longtime attorney, Michael White (LL.B. ’66) remembers taking out loans for school in the ’60s, despite holding a steady job playing jazz saxophone at some of Kansas City’s hottest clubs. While acknowledging his own situation, he says it's different for students going through school now.
“Tuition was very cheap then,” said White. “I was playing in a band six nights a week then and going to school five days a week. I had a tiny amount of debt, just $350, and you could pay it off at something like $15 dollars a month. Nothing like these kids today that run up tens of thousands of dollars of debt to go to school.”
Michael Matteuzzi (J.D. ’85) is a trial attorney and founding partner of Matteuzzi & Brooker, P.C. in Overland Park, Kansas. He remembers taking on debt for school in the ’80s.
“I was on my own for college and on my own for law school, so I graduated with $10,000 in debt and, of course, I paid it off dutifully — $63.74 a month for ten years.” said Matteuzzi.
Reflecting on the state of her finances upon graduation in 1999, Mdivani said with a laugh, “I had some scholarships; I had family helping me out to the extent that they could; I had student loans; I had credit cards maxed out.”
Through adjunct teaching, Mdivani met her law partner Danielle Atchison (J.D. ’14, MBA ’19) when Atchison was still a student. The two now not only work together at Mdivani’s law office, but also co-teach three classes through the school.
Atchison, like many others who have graduated between 2010 and today, left school with debt, and a lot of it — $130,000.
When she left school, she signed up for an income-driven repayment plan that calculates payment amounts based on your salary.
“For the first few years I was paying a few hundred dollars a month,” said Atchison. “Each year when I renewed my plan, the payment went up.”
By about 2018, she dropped the plan and was paying $600-700 a month. Still, her principal would only edge down slowly as most went to interest — that is, until she caught an unexpected break.
“COVID happened and the interest rate dropped to 0%,” she said. “I paid $2,500-3,000 per month, plus all bonuses toward the loans to pay them off.”
Even with large, interest-free repayments at the end, it took Atchison a total of eight years to pay off her loans. Now, the opportunity for others do to the same is gone. After a three-and-a-half-year pause, interest rates returned in September of 2023.
Michael White with his saxaphone at the Inferno Lounge in Kansas City (right), and Michael White today (left).
Finding Funds for School
Brad Matteuzzi, a member of UMKC’s law school and a veteran, represents the unique challenges faced by student veterans. While some of his educational expenses are covered by the G.I. Bill, he still navigates significant obstacles common to many veterans in higher education, such as balancing academic commitments with military service.
After two deployments as a commissioned officer in the Marines, Matteuzzi was prepared to continue his military career with the Green Berets until the COVID-19 pandemic delayed his training. While waiting, he began assisting his father’s law firm and unexpectedly found a passion for law. Now, as a student, he continues to serve in the National Guard while pursuing his law degree, a combination that presents its own set of challenges.
“Basically, my whole law school career I’ve also been drilling,” Matteuzzi said. “Law school is inherently inflexible, and I think I missed many days and most of one week for training last year. It was a huge burden to not only coordinate missing class, but also making up for the missed days so I couldn’t be counted absent and have my grades affected.”
Matteuzzi's story underscores the unique challenges veterans encounter in balancing service and education. With veterans comprising 4% of UMKC’s incoming law class, their need for financial, academic and logistical support is crucial, especially given the additional hurdles they face beyond tuition. However, the financial strain of pursuing a legal education is a common challenge for all students. The remaining 96% also navigate the burden of student loans, part-time work and other financial pressures, making support for all students essential.
Kansas City Thrives on Giving Back
The UMKC School of Law can promise a bright future to its students with the help of those who’ve come before. Its extensive network of local alumni is lauded for its close-knit communities and supportive practices.
When alumni give back to the School of Law, they can direct their support to everything from scholarships to bar prep, emergency assistance and even capital improvements. But monetary donations aren’t the only way alumni can support the school.
Mike Matteuzzi and Mdivani’s law firms, like many others, routinely pull in UMKC Law students to clerk in their offices as they train to become attorneys themselves. The practical experience goes a long way in preparing a student for litigation, mediation and more after graduation.
Even while adjunct teaching and repaying her own loans, Atchison finds many fun opportunities to support current students.
“There are several events that come up throughout the year,” she said. “The family law group does a trivia, and I’ll go to that and donate, or there’s a lunch for the Bar Association, and I’ll give to that.”
Mira Mdivani and Danielle Atchison today (top photo), Mdivani at graduation in 1999 (bottom left) and Atchison at her graduation in 2014 (bottom right).
Why Giving Matters
When alumni give back to the School of Law, they can direct their support to everything from scholarships to bar prep, emergency assistance and even capital improvements.
Mike Matteuzzi has made regular donations to the UMKC Law Foundation for years, but recently decided to take his contribution a step further, donating $25,000 to create the Michael Matteuzzi Trial Advocacy Scholarship Endowed Fund.
“The fund awards one $1,000 scholarship each year,” he said. “It’s made available to whoever they believe has some genuine interest in trial advocacy.”
Donations of $25,000 or more can create an endowed scholarship, which can be named after a person, firm or anything of the donor's choosing.
The greater the donation, the greater the annual impact can be. That’s why Mdivani is also working to raise funds for students.
“I serve on the foundation for the Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City, and one of our projects is the funding of a full-ride scholarship for a UMKC student,” she said. “We see the law school as preparing students to join the bar in Kansas City. Many people who go to UMKC stay here.”
“If you’ve got a student who has been accepted at several places and we’re the one offering a scholarship, I think that’d be the difference maker,” said White.
Alumni like Ebersole and Matteuzzi believe scholarships help open the door to additional students with diverse interests and backgrounds, adding fresh perspectives to our local legal ecosystem.
“It’s not like our backgrounds or opinions are going to change our understanding of the law,” said Brad Matteuzzi. “But they may inform how we practice law in the future.”
At Ebersole's prior university, “my fellow students were of higher socioeconomic status,” he said. “With scholarships, I feel it allows people from all backgrounds to have an opportunity to enter the legal field, which is important because you need those diverse backgrounds.”
By investing in these students, donors and alumni are investing in a more dynamic future for the law profession in Kansas City.
Besides monetary donations, Matteuzzi and Mdivani’s law firms, like many others in the area, routinely pull in UMKC Law students to clerk in their offices as they train to become attorneys themselves. The practical experience goes a long way in preparing a student for litigation, mediation and more after graduation.
“If I give my 200%, they will be my colleagues,” said Mdivani. “In two or three years, they will be practicing alongside me.”
YOU CAN SPONSOR A STUDENT'S BAR PREP
UMKC Law provides students with bar prep courses as part of their tuition and fees at a cost of $1,000 per student each year. Please consider sponsoring a student to ensure the longevity of this critical program that increases first-time bar passage rates.
If you would like to make a greater impact, please contact Marie Dispenza, executive director of the UMKC Law Foundation, with questions or interest at dispenzam@umkc.edu or 816-235-6328.
JD Class Profile
Entering Students Fall 2024
129 FULL-TIME 10 PART-TIME 139 TOTAL
Enrolled ethnic minorities
LGBTQIA+
First generation
Military
Male
Female
47% female, 52% male, 1% agender/gender fluid
Average age
Employment Rate
*percentages based on total graduates
Bar Passage
Ultimate bar pass rate for 2021 graduates who took the bar within two years
Of incoming students receiving scholarships
National championship competition teams
Student organizations
Incoming class median LSAT score
Incoming class median undergraduate GPA