The Certainty of Uncertainty

SUSAN KRINSKY

Associate Dean for Student Affairs

As I write this, we’re nearing the end of a tumultuous year in so many contexts—in global affairs, in domestic politics, and of course in our own world of legal education. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen more commentary on the state of legal education from more high profile publications than I can recall over my entire career. While applications were down again in 2014–2015, the pace of the decline appears to have slowed, and test takers have NOT been down over the past four test administrations. It’s hard to know whether we’re starting to see more interest in law school, or whether prospective applicants are just testing the waters. So we remain in an environment with a lot of uncertainty.

We’re also at the close of the traditional recruiting season (although I think all of us now know that the recruiting season never ends). We’ve seen some law school forums and fairs up, some down, and some unchanged. Most of us agree that the prospective students with whom we’re talking seem more serious and more realistic than in prior years.

Once again, we experienced a terrifically educational and invigorating annual meeting in May. The Del Coronado was a magical place, but our upcoming annual meeting in 2016 will REALLY be in a magical place—none other than Disney World. By the time you read this, the Annual Meeting Work Group, chaired by Michael Donnelly-Boylen of Roger Williams, will be meeting to plan a program that will both educate and energize us. The National Recruitment Work Group, the Forums Work Group, and the LLM Survey Work Group are also meeting before the end of the year. All of these are work groups of the Services and Programs Committee, ably chaired by Mathiew Le of the University of Washington.

The Diversity Committee, chaired by Nancy Benavides of Florida State, is, if anything, even busier—with a long list of projects on its plate and its engagement in increasing the pipeline of diverse students to law school. The Test Development and Research Committee, chaired by Tim Glynn of Seton Hall, continues its work on several interesting projects, and the Finance and Legal Affairs Committee, under the leadership of Michael States of Ohio State, will only become busier as our budget cycle heats up in the coming months. Our Audit Committee, chaired by Renée Post of the University of Pennsylvania, and Investment Committee, chaired by Chris Pietruszkiewicz, have been hard at work this fall.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the LSAC staff, all of whom—to a person—work so very hard to make the admission process easier for applicants and as seamless as possible for us. One of the many joys of having been elected chair of the LSAC Board of Trustees is the opportunity I have to work with the LSAC staff virtually every day. I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank all of you for continuing to make this profession, with all of the uncertainty and upheaval and “new normal-ness,” one I consider myself extraordinarily fortunate to be a part of.