Belmont University, located in Nashville, TN announced this morning that it will open a new law school, the first new law school in middle Tennessee in the last 100 years. Factors weighing the decision to move forward with a new law school included this gem:
A recent feasibility study indicated increasing need over the next decade for attorneys in Tennessee as well as in the region. Tennessee currently has fewer lawyers per capita (8.2 per 10,000) than nearly all of the states in which new American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law schools have opened in the past 10 years. In addition, there are hundreds of individuals interested in attending an ABA-approved law school in Tennessee who are currently unable to do so—in 2008, nearly 6,800 individuals applied for entrance to Tennessee’s three ABA-approved law schools, but only 1,773 were issued offers of admission.
What a couple of fascinating statistics! Congratulations on the announcement.
Fore a more detailed account of the announcement, visit Belmont University’s web site.
What are your thoughts? Does the country need another new law school? Does the country? Chime in with your comments below!
Congratulations to those California Western Law Students involved in the California Innocence Project. A U.S. District Court Judge has ordered that the conviction of Rafael Madrigal, Jr. be overturned, and that the man be retried within the next 60 days, or released from prison. For more details on the story, refer the the California Western School of Law blog, or the story in the Los Angeles Times. The students involved in this decision will likely recall this win for the rest of their legal careers.