Formerly Top 30 Law School Enters Full-On Meltdown

Unveiling a new strategic vision and then immediately losing your dean is hardly a recipe for success.

It’s been a tumultuous couple of years since Washington & Lee University School of Law scored the number 2 slot in our ATL Insider Survey. People may love it — well, people who don’t mind the Confederate Flag may love it (the school ultimately backed down from that one) — but the school itself has struggled.

Dropping from 26th in the U.S. News rankings to its current perch at 43 (it sits at 37 in the ATL Top 50) will create some panic. Even though, as Elie pointed out when the school first took its tumble:

All that said… f**k it, dude, it’s U.S. News. It’s a magazine. W&L did not magically become worse overnight. Either it’s been this bad for a while or it’s not as bad as U.S. News says. You shouldn’t be making your law school decisions based on one commercial ranking.

That is an entirely reasonable worldview and reason #857 why Elie would make a great law school dean (compare/contrast with the millions of reasons he’d suck at it). It seems that Washington & Lee did not at all take Elie’s advice because they’ve instituted some new “strategery” to fix the school.

And then within a week, the dean is gone.

Overreacting much?

First off, the school unleashed its new strategic vision on the world late last week. There’s a bit to unpack, but some of the highlights are:

Sponsored

Beginning with the 2015-16 academic year, the school will enroll entering 1L classes of about 100 students, resulting in a full-time student body of about 300. For comparison’s sake, the current law school student body is 374 and includes the largest third-year class in school history. The Class of 2017, which entered last fall, had 101 members

At least this isn’t a school that needs to lower its standards for cash. This is a prestige play, not a desperate bid to keep the school open.

Tuition will increase at an annual rate of 2 percent per year.

I guess that matches inflation. Oh, wait, no it doesn’t.

Six administrative and staff positions will be reduced over a five-year period, and there will also be budget reductions for visiting and adjunct faculty.

Sponsored

Finally somebody is figuring out that what’s driving up law school costs aren’t the professors — or the idea that tuition is way too low — but the explosion of staff that don’t actually teach. Hopefully George Mason will figure that out.

And now for the doozy.

Operating budgets will be reduced by 10 percent in 2015-16 with the exception of the library budget, which will grow by 2 percent.

Students? Get by with less. Institution that no one uses anymore? Here’s your raise!!! Professor Bainbridge wrote a whole article titled, “Why is W&L increasing its law library budget while cutting everything else?” Now you see where this is going, right? U.S. News, for reasons that defy logic, continues to consider the size of the library in its ranking. So… law school takes a tumble in U.S. News rankings, and one of the easiest investments it can make is throwing more money at the obsolete library. At least with the ATL rankings the best way to game the methodology is good for students.

At least this bold new strategy to shamelessly manipulate rankings rebuild the law school’s reputation will be overseen by a sure and steady hand. Nope, the dean’s gone.

Dean Nora V. Demleitner announced yesterday that she’s stepping down:

Dear Members of the Washington and Lee Law Faculty, Students, Staff, and Alumni Community: After eight years as a law school dean, including three at this institution, I will be stepping down as Dean of the Washington and Lee School of Law effective June 30, 2015. I intend to continue to serve the Law School as a member of the faculty following a sabbatical leave.

Well, good luck to the next dean who’s got to implement this ambitious new plan. But as Dean Demleitner’s farewell notification recaps her accomplishments of the last three years, it’s even more obvious that there really shouldn’t be any cause for panic at Washington & Lee. Nobody likes falling 17 places in a ranking, but this is a top 50 law school that boasts a top-notch bar passage rate. Isn’t that most of the battle?

If ever there was a case for Elie’s edict to just stay calm and invest in professional services, this is it.

(Flip to the next page for Dean Demleitner’s full farewell.)

W&L Law School Permanently Reduces 1L Class to 100 (Down 47% From 2012), Eliminates 6 Faculty and 6 Staff Positions, Cuts or Freezes All Faculty Salaries, and Invades Corpus of Endowment [TaxProf Blog]
Nora Demleitner to Step Down as W&L Law School Dean After Three Years of Service [TaxProf Blog]
Why is W&L increasing its law library budget while cutting everything else? [Professor Bainbridge]

Earlier: ATL’s 10 Top Rated Law Schools For 2013
Wherein Black People Have To Go To School With Confederates
Washington & Lee Surrenders On Confederate Flag Issue
Washington & Lee Tries To Calm Fears Of Entering Students