Brian Tamanaha (Washington U.), Information About Law Schools, Circa 1960: The Cost of Attending:
The AALS produced a comprehensive study of law schools in the late 1950s, sending detailed surveys to 129 law schools, with a 90% response rate. Here are a few interesting tidbits about the cost of attending law school: Median annual tuition and fees at private law schools was $475 (range $50-$1050); adjusted for inflation, that’s $3,419 in 2011 dollars. The median for public law schools was $204 (range $50 – $692), or $1,550 in 2011 dollars.
In contrast, here are the current tuition and fees at the top-ranked private (Harvard: $48,786; Stanford: $47,460; Yale: $52,525) and public (resident) (Michigan: $44,600; UC-Berkeley: $44,245; Virginia: $44,600) law schools.
Update: Will Legal Education Remain Affordable, By Whom, And How?
