Quote:
Originally posted by andViolins
An article in the Plain Dealer today about the massive Ohio budget deficit and ways that the legislature can close the $3 billion dollar gap.
http://www.cleveland.com/politics/in...0272118710.xml
One possible item is closing one of Ohio's public law schools. Thoughts? Suggestions on which one?
aV
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Wow -- That's scary. I guess the first question is, are there too many lawyers being turned out every year in the state? I don't know the answer to this one. To tell the truth, I wasn't sure which of the law schools were public and which were private. So, I looked up the list. They are:
Akron
Cincinnati (I don't know why I had it in my head they were private)
Cleveland State
Ohio State
Toledo
Let's take two right off the top.
Ohio State (Come on, it's OHIO State, for god's sake). Located in the capital, and furthermore, as everyone knows, they are the be all and end all to all outside the state, and many within. Lower Tier I school -- I don't think so. Though I cannot confirm this, I'm pretty sure they would send the highest number of grads out of state compared to the other schools.
Cincinnati - Taft's alma mater? Tier 2 School. One of the larger markets. Don't think so.
That leaves on the short list:
Akron
Cleveland State
Toledo
What are the objective criteria they will use to determine which, if any close?
Population?
Size of Market served?
Bar Pass Rates?
Alternatives
Recent Investment in Physical Structures
Alumni involved in politics, particularly the General Assembly.
U.S. News rankings -- can these really be construed as objective?
If you look at physical distribution throughout the state, the amount of public law schools does not seem excessive. Most of the major population centers in the state are served by one public law school.
With respect to Cleveland State, they recently built a law library, I believe they may graduate the largest number of students every year (though Ohio State may graduate more, I'm not sure). Tier 3 school. It's also serving the major legal market in the state. They have a ton of graduates in the local judiciary and local politics. Bar pass rates are a bit lower than some schools, (but higher than others) plus the area is served by Case, so, I don't know. Although for my money, I'd rather avoid paying $20 K a year for an education if possible. Plus, I'm sure most of their grads stay local.
Akron - Interestingly enough, I see they quoted Dean Aynes in the article. My guess is they may be sweating it more than most. The facilities are decent, though the library sucks. Smaller market, though larger than Toledo. A fair amount of politicos that are alums. Has the reputation of a good bar passage rate, at least that's the hype. Pretty sure most of their grads stay local.
Loss of the school would be a blow to the University and a town that has taken a lot of hits over the past 25 years. No real competition locally, unless you count the Cleveland area. My guess is that that could enter into the calculus. By the way, I looked at the U.S. News rankings. When did Akron slip to a Tier 4? I thought they were Tier 3 until relatively recently. Maybe it's their shitty high-school like library facilities.
Toledo - Tier 3 school. I really don't know enough about them. Are there any other schools close to them? I hate to say it, but UT always seems like an afterthought with regard to the attention it receives. Does this make them a candidate? I'm not sure. I think the fact that they serve a more "remote" part of the state could favor keeping them open.
spooky(just my thoughts but then again, what do I know?)fish