New ABA data shows JD enrollment down, non-JD enrollment up
Following up on my earlier discussions projecting the near future of JD enrollment and the legal innovation of increased non-JD enrollment, the ABA has released a portion of the Fall 2013 data. The results are actually slightly worse for JD enrollment than my original projections: I estimated 40,200 enrolled, and the final number from the ABA is 39,675, around an 11% decline. I've updated the chart to show the decline in LSATs administered, JD applicants, and JD matriculants, along with slightly modified (i.e., slightly lower) projections for Fall 2014.
Additionally, non-JD enrollment increased at the nominal rate of an additional 70 students to an all-time high of 11,139. That almost assuredly means non-JD enrollment now exceeds 7.5% of total law school enrollment. I won't have that figure until later, but consider the earlier charts about non-JD enrollment. The ABA has also included a new breakdown of non-JD enrollment: "post-JD" (this year, 9401), and "non-JD for non-lawyers" (1738).