Law Schools

Law School Won't Close Next Year, But The Year After That Looks A Little Bleak

This isn't exactly the rhetoric of a school with a long future.

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golden-gate-bridge-388917_640Golden Gate University took a vote on the future of its revenue-losing law school. The school’s enrollment is down some 80 percent over the last 13 years and the university’s decision to bank its financial fortunes on San Francisco real estate investments proved ill-fated as the epicenter of economic activity continued its multiyear process of decamping to Silicon Valley and COVID made commercial real estate a losing proposition. The school’s future looked bleak.

But the law school will not close! At least not yet.

“GGU Law will continue to operate during the academic year 2023-24 and beyond as necessary to ensure at a minimum that all currently enrolled and entering students will continue to receive their scholarships and be able to receive an ABA-accredited degree,” spokesperson Jenny McKeel said in an email to The Standard.

That “at a minimum” sure sounds like an “at a maximum.” Good for the school in choosing to avoid the hassle of a teach-out plan. But that statement doesn’t offer a ton of assurances for the school’s longevity after the rising crop of 1Ls. Current students should reach the end of the tunnel… everyone else is likely to find just some black paint the Road Runner plastered on the cliffside.

And according to Law.com, the school is already taking steps to grease the wheels for a future closure:

Notices of discontinuation of tenured and multi-year appointments have already been issued because faculty members are entitled to have at least one year’s notice if their appointment will not be renewed, Fike and Yates wrote, explaining the notices were sent to ensure the university’s ability to reduce the number of law school faculty beginning in FY25, based on the law school faculty proposal, which calls for a reduction in the number of faculty to be phased in over the next two years.

There’s not much reason to clear the decks of tenured faculty unless the school plans to shut down in the near future. The school may play it off as an effort to facilitate downsizing for a restructuring effort, but it’s hard to stay open as a law school when you’re kicking tenured professors to the curb.

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So this may be more of a speedbump on the road to closure.

Despite Troubles, Golden Gate University Says Law School Won’t Close [San Francisco Standard]
Golden Gate University Law School Says It Plans to Stay Open for at Least the Next Academic Year [Law.com]

Earlier: Law School Braces For Vote That May Close Its Doors Forever

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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