Chronicle of Higher Education, In Tight Job Market, Some Want ABA to Toughen Law-School Accreditation Standards:
As the ABA prepares for its annual meeting in Toronto this week, it finds itself under increasing pressure to tighten the spigot on the steady flow of law schools it has been accrediting.
Federal regulators and disillusioned law-school graduates have questioned whether the association’s standards are rigorous enough at a time when record numbers of law-school graduates are competing for a shrinking number of legal jobs.
Much of the critics’ focus has been on misleading statistics many schools report to the association about their graduates’ job prospects. But the critiques also raise a broader question about how—and even whether—the association should be protecting prospective students from taking on more debt than they’ll realistically be able to pay off.
Over the last decade the number of ABA-accredited law schools grew from 182 to 200, with enrollment in juris-doctorate programs increasing by 17%, to 154,549 last fall. A record 44,004 new lawyers flooded the market last year.
More Students Are Heading to Law School The number of students entering their first year in law schools accredited by the ABA has grown steadily in recent years. 2010-11 52,448 2009-10 51,646 2008-9 49,414 2007-8 49,082 2006-7 48,937 2005-6 48,132 2004-5 48,239 2003-4 48,867 2002-3 48,433 2001-2 45,070 2000-1 43,518 Source: ABA And even as the number of applications to law schools dropped 11% this year, after two years of increases, the number of law schools is poised to continue to grow. At least a half-dozen new law schools are in the pipeline, with several more planned but on hold because of state budget cuts and dwindling contributions from donors.
Despite the saturated market, many universities are tempted to open law schools because of the prestige they offer. And because they require no labs or costly equipment, and typically can run large introductory classes, law schools also are widely viewed as cash cows that can subsidize other money-losing parts of universities.
Many educators question the need for more law schools at a time when only 64% of 2010 graduates reported having full-time jobs that require a law degree within nine months of graduation, according to the National Association for Law Placement. Many graduates are working as paralegals, while some are trying to whittle away at their debt by waiting tables or working as store clerks. …
Victor J. Gold, dean of Loyola Law School, says his school is grappling with how to respond to the current job market in ways that don’t hurt the school over the long term. “I’ve been in legal education for 30 years, and this is the worst job market I’ve seen,” he says.
While a few schools have reduced enrollment this year, most, like Loyola, rely on tuition to cover faculty salaries and other costs. Reducing the class size—currently about 400 per year—isn’t a realistic option for Loyola, Mr. Gold says. …
If applications continue to drop, more schools may be forced to accept smaller classes, and some lower-tier law schools may ultimately go out of business, many legal educators predict. But in the meantime, critics charge, the schools seem to be impervious to the laws of supply and demand, continuing to increase enrollment even when applications and job prospects are down.
More than a dozen institutions have been testing the legal-education waters in recent years. Several, like the University of North Texas, decided they weren’t ready to take the plunge. But others, including Lincoln Memorial University, in Knoxville, Tenn.; Belmont University, in Nashville; and Louisiana College, in Shreveport, La., are jumping in, each with the conviction that the niche they have carved out will persuade students to take a chance on an unaccredited school.
