Georgetown law grad here who maxed out loans, worked during school, and put the excess capital into my first startup (cheaper than a small business loan!), which was law/tech-related. Not that I recommend that approach... I'm now back in software product management, which is what I did before law school.

I tell people law school is a bad book club. You read a crap-ton of mostly boring books, talk about them, and usually take a test at the end of each course. Occasionally there's an amazing instructor to make a subject enjoyable.

I'd prefer in the US we keep law as a graduate program, but tear down the antiquated 3 year system. Law school should be one year, with optional "residency" and specialist training like medicine. You'd get the research, writing, and basic subjects in that one year, which are all you need for most actual lawyering. Residency would be the hands-on training you never get at law school unless you had an amazing clinical program. Bar exams should be 1 basic exam covering that 1-year curriculum, and additional exams if you want to be certified to practice a specialty.