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The percentage of African-American and Hispanic students enrolled in law school increased between 2010 and 2013, but those gains came almost exclusively at less prestigious law schools with lower admission standards, according to new research.
“Schools that can ensure good career prospects aren’t making diversity a priority,” he said. “There seems to be much more of a focus on the [LSAT and grade-point average] numbers.”
Of the 36 elite law schools in Taylor’s analysis, 10 saw their proportion of minority students increase during the study period and 17 saw declines; the rest registered no statistically significant change. Contacted for comment, schools with declines, including the University of Virginia School of Law and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, did not respond.
“The legal profession will never be more diverse than the population of law students,” Smith said. “We need to build a more diverse profession—and it needs to start with law schools across the board.”
Darnell Smith, an African-American student at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, said the interplay between racial diversity, law school admissions and school prestige is complex.
“The legal profession can benefit from more diversity,” Smith said. “Should those students only attend low-ranked law schools? Absolutely not. But I don't think low-ranked law schools should be blamed for giving students an opportunity.”
