Above the Law's Elie Mystal discusses Columbia's law school diversity study

(NYT) While law schools added about 3,000 seats for first-year students from 1993 to 2008, both the percentage and the number of black and Mexican-American law students declined in that period, according to a study by a Columbia Law School professor.

What makes the declines particularly troubling, said the professor, Conrad Johnson, is that in that same period, both groups improved their college grade-point averages and their scores on the Law School Admission Test, or L.S.A.T.

“Even though their scores and grades are improving, and are very close to those of white applicants, African-Americans and Mexican-Americans are increasingly being shut out of law schools,” said Mr. Johnson, who oversees the Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic at Columbia, which collaborated with the Society of American Law Teachers to examine minority enrollment rates at American law schools.

Scott Drake interviews AbovetheLaw.com...Editor in Chief...Elie Mystal. Mystal says The U.S. News and World Report Law School Rankings may play a significant role here.

Columbia study website

Scott interviews Columbia University law professor Conrad Johnson

(source: New York Times)

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Comments

[Darren]

Great interview. I'm glad you guys addressed the topic of minorities in law school.

[Eric D]

Very interesting. I don't see this trend continuing.

[Mike]

Wouldn't we need data on an additional variable - namely, the average GPA and LSAT scores of non-minority students during the same period - in order to understand WHY African-Americans and Mexican-Americans are being shut out of law school?

For example, if the average GPA / LSAT score of non-minority students is both (1) higher than minority students, and (2) is outpacing minority improvements (e.g. a higher percentage of improvement each year than their minority counterparts), then it might explain why fewer minority students are matriculating, despite their improving scores.

The data so far is interesting - but there might need to be more work to move beyond the WHAT to get to the more pertinent question of WHY.

[The LBN Team]

Mike,

Great observation. I think not only this report but other evidence indicates that minority graduations are still lagging despite score improvements. As you said it's now time to get past the "what is happening" and get empirical evidence as to Why it is happening.

Mark W

[Darrell]

Unfortunately, I can't watch the video from this computer, but I agree with Mike's point that there is some information missing from the study itself. I'd imagine (purely speculating here) that in the same way there is difficulty retaining midlevel minority associates (or was before 2008, to avoid the issue of the market falling apart), it may have to do with a lack of support structure (i.e. fewer minority partners makes it more difficult to attract and retain minority associates). I don't know if the number of minority law students would correlate in the same way with minority law professors, but I'd expect it to have some impact. I'd love to look at retention rates of minority students at Howard University compared to first and second tier schools as a whole, for example.

[J]

I am a first year minority law student at a top 20 law school, and I concede that lower GPA/LSAT scores may be a cause of lower minority enrollment in law schools. But I attribute the lack of diversity in my class to systemic inequities, specifically the economic burden of preparing for the LSAT and law school in general.

My parents are high school teachers, far from rich, but able to pay for my enrollment in a LSAT preparation course (thousands of dollars). I saw very few minority students there, and I pity the ones who tried to go the cheaper route, self-preparation, since they were likely creamed by the Kaplan/Princeton groomed competition. The LSAT score does not purely reflect critical thinking or reading skills, but also method and preparation, which can be bought.

However, during the entire time that I prepared for the LSAT, I was also taking a full academic load and working 20 hours a week. I know from conversation that I tested against students from the prep course who had finished their bachelors already, but were taking an entire year off from school and work to devote their exclusive attention to preparation for the LSAT. As many are financing part or all of their tuition and living expenses independently, few minority students I knew, myself included, could afford that extravagance.

Though indicators like the LSAT and GPA are meant to neutralize socio-economic disparities (which usually fall along racial lines), the moneyed upper classes will typically find a way to give their children any advantage that they can buy, be it a $3000 LSAT prep course, the freedom to devote their existence to studying for the test for a year or more, expensive "admissions coaches" to write their personal statements for them, and so on.

A poorer minority student would need to be pretty exceptional to compensate for lacking those advantages.