What is the ideal number of law schools? Forum

[dd235]

So I know most here will agree that there are WAY too many law school and that ideally a bunch should shut their doors. But how many should close?

In an ideal world, would we just keep the top 100 and shut down the rest? More? Less?

[Chriz]

64. the T14 and 1 in each state.

[ph14]

Less law schools charging $50k/year, but more law schools charging community college type money for the purpose of graduating lawyers who can provide legal services for low-income persons.

[notalobbyist]

Less law schools charging $50k/year, but more law schools charging community college type money for the purpose of graduating lawyers who can provide legal services for low-income persons.

+1

[johnnyquest]

I believe that each state (excluding Alaska) should have at least one law school. Then adjust for great schools and states with high populations. This number in my opinion would be around 80.

[Winston1984]

64. the T14 and 1 in each state.

So Texas and Wyoming should each have one? That's dumb. Probably on a state-by-state basis. Most states probably only need 2 at the most.

[sublime]

..

[cotiger]

I believe that each state (excluding Alaska) should have at least one law school. Then adjust for great schools and states with high populations. This number in my opinion would be around 80.

Why not Alaska?

[johnnyquest]

I believe that each state (excluding Alaska) should have at least one law school. Then adjust for great schools and states with high populations. This number in my opinion would be around 80.

Why not Alaska?

Because Alaska currently has no law school, and the last thing I want to encourage is creating a new law school.

[FXD]

No more than 80.

[Mack.Hambleton]

reducing class sizes should also be a part of the solution (for a lot of schools)

[Zeeguy91]

64. the T14 and 1 in each state.

You do realize that that would mean that both UCLA and USC would have to shut down their law schools, right. That...kind of doesn't make sense to me.

EDIT: Plus, if we went by your rules, but also excluded providing schools for the states that already have one of the T-14 within their borders, then the total would be 55, not 64.

[Nova]

Any law school that

is not the only law school in the state

& that places less than 50% of grads in long term full time JD required employment

should be shut down.

That should get rid of well over 100.

edit: Flem made a great thread about this Summer 2012... I can't find it tho.

[Nova]

Texas:
-UT
-SMU
-UHLC
-Baylor
-Tech
close the other 5. Close Baylor too, if we are talking about truly ideal.

NY:
-NYU
-Columbia
-Cornell
-Fordham
close the other 6 or 7 or whatever

Minnesota:
-UMN
close the other 3

California:
-S
-UCB
-UCLA
-USC
-UCD
-UCI
close the other 20 something

DC:
-GULC
-GW
close the other 5ish

[TheSpanishMain]

FL is another big offender. UF/FSU can stay, and maaaaybe UM. Everything else, burn.

[cinephile]

4

[Otunga]

NE edition
Massachusetts should have just Boston U/College and Harvard. MAYBE UMass for community college tuition rates and a small class size as an affordable alternative.

For RI there should be no law school, or Roger Williams should close and Brown should open a LS with a small class. If no school, then the Boston schools can place a good amount of grads in the state.

New Hampshire can keep UNH since their stats are respectable. In addition they have a neat program where you can be admitted to the NH bar prior to graduation.

Close Vermont. Awful stats. If nothing else, let them provide an affordable LLM or otherwise non-JD grad degree in environmental law.

Maine should keep their school because they're a little more geographically isolated. But reduce tuition to the point where it's 5000 per year or something along those lines.

CT should close all schools but Yale and UConn.

There is just a huge surplus of schools for these markets.

[GeneralFile(s)]

Illinois edition:

Keep: U Chi, NU, U of Illinois and Kent (good in the city option for people who don't have T14 numbers)

Close: Loyola, Depaul, John Maarshal, SIU, NIU

Edit: Loyola and Kent are interchangeable, but one should close.

[TheSpanishMain]

Michigan: Keep UM and either Wayne or MSU, but not both.

North Carolina: Keep Duke, UNC, and Wake. The rest go.

Virginia: Keep UVA, W&M, and I guess Richmond. W&L, Liberty, Regent, and Mason close.

DC: Keep Georgetown, GW, and maybe Catholic, if they slash tuition and orient themselves toward producing lawyers with low debt to work with the underserved population. American and UDC should close and possibly catch fire.

[Ricky-Bobby]

Illinois edition:

Keep: U Chi, NU, U of Illinois and Kent (good in the city option for people who don't have T14 numbers)

Close: Loyola, Depaul, John Maarshal, SIU, NIU

Edit: Loyola and Kent are interchangeable, but one should close.

No way. Bulldoze Kent and Loyola, leave SIU. SIU is cheap (relatively) for in-state and serves the lower half of the state. As long as it's made clear to prospective students that SIU is for downstate law, and that the degree will not travel, the school provides a decent service. Of course, class sizes and tuition need to be reduced in a big way.

[PDaddy]

There's no right or wrong answer; it depends on your stats, background, career goals, finances, etc. The average was around 8-10 at one time. Now it's probably 15.

[Ricky-Bobby]

There's no right or wrong answer; it depends on your stats, background, career goals, finances, etc. The average was around 8-10 at one time. Now it's probably 15.

Way to read the thread before commenting. Truly great RC skills, bro.

[Dafaq]

I’m not so sure if the number of law schools is the problem versus the number of seats they each allocate.

If there are 25,000 yearly jobs available then cap the number of seats at 130 per school. This would cut the unemployed stat to about 2%. Not my idea, this is the approach used in a number of PHD fields (ala medical, phycology, etc.). I realize this will never happen because law schools’ love of $$. Still, makes me wonder how it ever got this way.

[Nova]

There's no right or wrong answer; it depends on your stats, background, career goals, finances, etc. The average was around 8-10 at one time. Now it's probably 15.

Way to read the thread before commenting. Truly great RC skills, bro.

maybe it was a joke?

[Ricky-Bobby]

There's no right or wrong answer; it depends on your stats, background, career goals, finances, etc. The average was around 8-10 at one time. Now it's probably 15.

Way to read the thread before commenting. Truly great RC skills, bro.

maybe it was a joke?

If that's the case then I'm the asshole. I'm not ready to bet on that just yet.

I'm still an asshole, but that's irrelevant.