HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, LEGAL EDUCATION EDITION: The 2-Year J.D. Fails To Take Off. I believe, however, that all the 2-year J.D. programs cost as much as a 3-year J.D. program, which somewhat vitiates their appeal; you save a year of living expenses, but not tuition. And you save a year of your life, but my experience is that people in their twenties don’t fully appreciate that they have only so many years in their twenties.