Since the author says she started out making 5 times as much as a lawyer than as a teacher, I can only assume she landed one of the associate jobs at a major law firm straight out of law school making $160k+.

She makes it sound like anybody can hit up law school and come out making almost $200k. The vast majority of law graduates do not land jobs like that. The vast majority also have nearly crippling debt. The vast majority of the firms paying $160k+ are also in hyper expensive metro areas, whereas teachers can live comfortable lives in very rural towns (if they want to).