Law school apps down

Larry Ribstein —  17 March 2011

The WSJ reports:

The number of law-school applicants this year is down 11.5% from a year ago to 66,876, according to the Law School Admission Council Inc. The figure * * * is the lowest since 2001 at this stage of the process. * * * Prospective law students increasingly are aware of the grim job market for lawyers and the challenges they would face in paying off law-school loans, college career advisers said.

Law school is counter-cyclical.  A rising economy increases the opportunity costs of a legal education.

Still, this is a wakeup call. Law schools need to decrease and restructure tuition and make a better case for the long-term value of a legal education.

Larry Ribstein

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Professor of Law, University of Illinois College of Law

One response to Law school apps down

  1. 

    “Law school is counter-cyclical. A rising economy increases the opportunity costs of a legal education.

    Still, this is a wakeup call.”

    Unemployment is still 9%, and I don’t have the impression that recent college graduates are facing a brisk job market. Which makes these numbers even more ominous for law schools.