Litigation

Does Delaware Need Another Law School? Answer: No!

By Francis G.X. Pileggi

Readers of this blog are likely aware that the population of the entire State of Delaware is much less than one million residents, which is smaller than most major cities. Delaware has one law school withing its borders and about 5 more within a short driving distance to nearby Philadelphia and the surrounding area. Yet the University of Delaware has indicated that it is considering the opening of another law school. Perhaps they are not aware of the complaints by law school graduates from schools around the country about how difficult it is for many of them to find jobs that pay enough to service student loans. Are they aware of learned commentary, such as the professorial insights available here and here, about the changing legal profession?

One of the suggestions the U of D has presented to advance its consideration of a second law school in Delaware is that their new "moneymaker" would be an "elite law school". Rebutting that suggestion, with surgical precision and compelling reasoning, is an article by Ed Micheletti, a partner in the Wilmington, Delaware, office of the Skadden Arps firm, available here. Ed is a distinguished graduate of Delaware's only law school: Widener University School of Law. As Ed's partnership status indicates, Widener's graduates are represented in the largest firms in the country and all the major firms in Delaware. A letter from Dean Linda Ammons, available here, also makes the case along with supporting statistics. Isn't the lack of a need for more law schools and more lawyers, self-evident? Comments are welcomed.

Full post as published by Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog on March 03, 2011 (boomark / email).