Law professors are some of the most intransigent defenders of the high cost of law school because their very livelihoods depend on it. Law professors are the costs for law schools, the students are the revenue centers. If students don’t spend or borrow the money, professors will — eventually — suffer for it.
You might think that the reality of that situation would make law professors among the most radical thinkers when it comes to reforming law schools. It actually makes them among the most conservative. They have a system that worked, damnit. And it would work again if the media would just shut up and let them fleece educate the next generation of students.
Maybe that’s right, if you have tenure. But if you are trying to break into legal academia, the inability of LOLschools (I just made that up) to show clear value to prospective students is biting you in the ass. U.C. Irvine professor Sarah Lawsky has some fun stats on entry-level law professor hiring over at Prawfsblawg:
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While Lawsky can’t capture every single new hire (the data is self-reported), the trend lines are pretty clear. Moreover, Lawsky reports that those 70 new hires for 2015 got hired by 52 different law schools, down from 99 schools making new hires back in 2011.
The professors already ensconced in the ivory tower have every reason to try to protect their privilege and defend the status quo. But there’s no more room for anybody else. Fewer law students will lead to fewer law professors. Gravity always wins.
Spring Self-Reported Entry Level Hiring Report 2015 [PrawfsBlawg]
Think being a new lawyer in the US is tough? Try being a new law professor [Quartz]