A Law School Is Coming to Shreveport -- Hallelujah!

Some people — such as the many anti-law-school bloggers, or my colleague here at Above the Law, Elie Mystal — think there are too many law schools. I’m not as much of a pessimist; I take a more measured view. Although I share the concern that perhaps too many schools are cranking out too many debt-saddled graduates, releasing them into an already saturated legal job market, I think there are some perfectly good reasons to go to law school.

Should I be even more optimistic? Is it possible that we need more law schools? Maybe law degrees are like clean water or good health care: everybody needs them, so we have to make sure that every part of the country has a source.

If that’s the thinking, then this week brings some good news: a law school is coming to Shreveport. With a population of 200,145, this bustling metropolis is the third-largest city in Louisiana.

Let’s learn more about the fabulous Louisiana College School of Law….

The readers who alerted us to the Louisiana College School of Law think it isn’t a wise idea. They argue that Shreveport, a legal market where the largest firm is 40-attorney Cook, Yancey, King, & Galloway, doesn’t really need its own law school. They point out that no Fortune 500 companies are based in the area, and that the largest employers are the hospital, the casino, and a closed GM factory.

They note that even the biggest personal injury lawyer is a disappointment. Other cities have “The Bulldog” or “The Texas Hammer,” while Shreveport has … “The Guy with the Hat.”

Sponsored

One tipster tells us:

This ridiculousness has to stop … maybe … MAYBE Dallas needs a public law school. Maybe Massachusetts needs a public law school.

But do the poor people of Northern Louisiana need an unaccredited, unnecessary private law school sucking up the little money left up there not being fed into the coin slot of a chintzily lighted slot machine on a beat up old riverboat?

Unaccredited? How long will that be the case? The ABA isn’t exactly draconian when it comes to accreditation standards.

And we’ve left one important fact of the equation. As noted in the Shreveport Times, the new law school is going to be “Christian-focused.” The paper explains:

Pineville-based Louisiana College announced news of the law school in 2007, with plans to start classes in 2009. It will have a “biblical worldview,” school leaders said, to train future lawyers to defend conservative Christian values in courtrooms and politics.

Sponsored

Amen! Jesus be praised! Maybe the graduates of those godless law schools can’t find jobs. But when it comes to those who pass through the pearly gates of the Louisiana College School of Law, the Lord will provide.

Louisiana College plans Christian law school for Shreveport [Shreveport Times]
Law School Planned For Shreveport [KTBS]