Despite stable enrollment, law schools continue to shed full-time faculty
Overall law school enrollment has improved slightly over the last few years, and a huge influx of non-JD enrollment continues.
Nevertheless, ABA data reveals that law schools continue to shrink—at least, when it comes to full-time faculty.
Law schools dropped from 10,226 full-time faculty (this figure includes all full-time positions, regardless of faculty status) in 2017 to 9470 in 2019, a 7% decline in two years. Law schools are doing more with less. Indeed, they’re not being replaced with adjuncts or temporary faculty—non-full-time faculty also declined (albeit at a smaller rate) in this period, too (from about 17,000 to about 16,500).
It might be, of course, that some of this attrition is simply phased retirements finally panning out, or ordinary departures that aren’t being refilled. But it’s also a sign that law schools are being cautious—and that despite enrollment improvements, that hasn’t translated into revenue improvements (e.g., increased scholarship spending to attract a similar student profile).
Three schools (Arizona Summit, Valparaiso, and Whittier) shut down in this period, totaling about 83 faculty in that time frame (some, however, did lateral to other law schools). Nevertheless, 44 law schools saw faculty declines of at least 15% in that time period.
| Name | 2017 | 2019 | Change |
| Florida Coastal | 39 | 13 | -66.7% |
| Vermont | 59 | 37 | -37.3% |
| Thomas Jefferson | 41 | 27 | -34.1% |
| Liberty | 27 | 19 | -29.6% |
| Touro | 44 | 31 | -29.5% |
| William & Mary | 64 | 46 | -28.1% |
| Buffalo | 61 | 45 | -26.2% |
| Regent | 27 | 20 | -25.9% |
| Louisville | 36 | 27 | -25.0% |
| Arkansas | 49 | 37 | -24.5% |
| Oklahoma City | 29 | 22 | -24.1% |
| Western New England | 29 | 22 | -24.1% |
| Samford | 25 | 19 | -24.0% |
| Berkeley | 103 | 79 | -23.3% |
| Denver | 85 | 66 | -22.4% |
| American | 94 | 73 | -22.3% |
| Catholic | 37 | 29 | -21.6% |
| Widener-Delaware | 33 | 26 | -21.2% |
| Detroit Mercy | 30 | 24 | -20.0% |
| Nova Southeastern | 56 | 45 | -19.6% |
| Faulkner | 26 | 21 | -19.2% |
| DePaul | 47 | 38 | -19.1% |
| Akron | 32 | 26 | -18.8% |
| Concordia | 16 | 13 | -18.8% |
| New Mexico | 48 | 39 | -18.8% |
| Northern Kentucky | 32 | 26 | -18.8% |
| West Virginia | 43 | 35 | -18.6% |
| Creighton | 33 | 27 | -18.2% |
| Davis | 51 | 42 | -17.6% |
| North Carolina | 68 | 56 | -17.6% |
| Case Western Reserve | 46 | 38 | -17.4% |
| Seattle | 59 | 49 | -16.9% |
| North Carolina Central | 36 | 30 | -16.7% |
| Chicago-Kent | 67 | 56 | -16.4% |
| Texas Tech | 43 | 36 | -16.3% |
| Chapman | 50 | 42 | -16.0% |
| Ohio State | 64 | 54 | -15.6% |
| Southern Illinois | 32 | 27 | -15.6% |
| University of Washington | 64 | 54 | -15.6% |
| Charleston | 26 | 22 | -15.4% |
| Pepperdine | 52 | 44 | -15.4% |
| St. Louis | 52 | 44 | -15.4% |
| Mitchell|Hamline | 46 | 39 | -15.2% |
| San Diego | 60 | 51 | -15.0% |
It’s not all bad news, however. 14 law schools (especially a few recently-founded schools) saw hiring upticks of at least 10%.
| Name | 2017 | 2019 | Change |
| Lincoln Memorial | 14 | 19 | 35.7% |
| UNT Dallas | 16 | 21 | 31.3% |
| UNLV | 42 | 55 | 31.0% |
| CUNY | 51 | 64 | 25.5% |
| Appalachian | 10 | 12 | 20.0% |
| La Verne | 21 | 25 | 19.0% |
| George Mason | 44 | 52 | 18.2% |
| Campbell | 26 | 30 | 15.4% |
| Irvine | 50 | 57 | 14.0% |
| Oklahoma | 37 | 42 | 13.5% |
| Roger Williams | 23 | 26 | 13.0% |
| Arkansas-Little Rock | 25 | 28 | 12.0% |
| Penn State Law | 42 | 47 | 11.9% |
| Howard | 35 | 39 | 11.4% |