The number of students entering law schools across the country tanked this year to a low not seen since the 1970s as concerns over crushing student loan debt and bleak job prospects deterred many from seeking law degrees.
Nearly 5,000 fewer full- and part-time students enrolled in law schools this year compared with 2012 — one student shy of 1977 enrollment levels, according to national figures released last week by the American Bar Association.
First-year enrollment is also noticeably down at the University of Hawaii’s law school, where 33 fewer full-time students started classes this year compared with 2012, representing a 38 percent drop.
But Dean Avi Soifer says he is confident enrollment will quickly rebound at the William S. Richardson School of Law, saying that Hawaii still has plenty of jobs for graduates.
"We are down considerably," Soifer said in an interview. "We try to target roughly 90 (first-year) students for the day program. We’re at 53 this year. Our big drop-off was really (applications) last year, unlike mainland schools that started seeing declines two years ago, so we had a lag. And we think it’s going to bounce back more quickly here."
He said mainland schools can no longer lure students with the promise of high-paying, entry-level positions at big-city firms.
"One of the reasons for the decline nationally is people are beginning to realize the jobs aren’t there," he said. "There was a dream being sold by law schools that you could start as an associate making $160,000 a year. Those jobs are no longer there."
Hawaii, he added, is "blessed" not to have huge law firms.
"We have law firms that are still civilized and not as exploitative as some of those big firms have become," Soifer said. "Here even the big firms are small enough that they know us, our students. It really comes down to a face-to-face culture here. There are still very good job prospects here."
About 90 percent of UH’s 2012 graduating law class stayed in Hawaii, according to a student employment survey.
Of the 106 graduates, 87.5 percent reported working in their field or pursuing advanced degrees within nine months of graduating. Most went into private practice (30 percent), were hired as judicial clerks (30 percent) or joined local government (19 percent). Ten graduates were unemployed and seeking jobs.
Nationally, law schools reported that 56.2 percent of 2012 graduates were in jobs requiring bar passage nine months after graduation, American Bar Association data show.
Jaime Tokioka, who was accepted to Richardson last week, says she isn’t dismayed by the declining enrollment trend and is excited to start law school next fall.
She left Hawaii after high school and majored in psychology and in business at Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., before realizing she wanted to pursue a career in law.
"I initially wanted to go into psychology to help people, but you can only take that so far. You can’t really change the situations they’re in," said Tokioka, who will turn 25 on Wednesday. "The bottom line is, I want to go to law school because it will provide an opportunity and many different avenues to effect change. … And I want to be able to look back and know that I left behind something that mattered."
She said she’s gotten lots of exposure working as a law clerk in the city Prosecutor’s Office.
Tokioka said Richardson was her first choice because it’s in her home state and doesn’t have the cutthroat reputation of other law schools.
"There’s a good balance between the rigors of law school and the very unique life you can only find in Hawaii," she said. "I feel like I’m going to learn so much but in an environment that’s not just all about school."
Law school enrollment hit an all-time high in 2010 with more than 52,000 first-year students pursuing law degrees amid an economic recession that saw many workers heading back to school and seeking job security.
Enrollment has steadily dropped each year since then. Some schools have resorted to lowering admission standards and raising tuition to make up for losses. But Soifer said UH isn’t going that route.
The law school accepted only 33 percent of its applicants this year, or 184 out of 553.
"We’re fortunate that we’re not as tuition-dependent as other schools," he said. "We’re used to not charging a lot of tuition, so we don’t rely on lots and lots of money coming in. We have generous support from our alumni and friends, and we’re good at getting grants."
Full-time resident tuition is $9,168 a semester, or $18,336 a year.
The American Bar Association said the average student loan debt in 2012 for a graduate of a public law school was $84,600, while private law school graduates had an average debt of $122,158 that year.
Soifer said UH’s law graduates on average have a loan debt that’s about half the national average for public law schools. He said many students receive scholarships or financial aid.
"We’re a bargain," said alumna Ronette Kawakami, who spent 26 years as a public defender for the state before joining the law school as associate dean for student services this year.
"I think we’re going to weather this storm because we’re such a unique school," she said, citing a close-knit atmosphere, experienced faculty and specialized programs in environmental law and Native Hawaiian law.
She credited graduates’ success with finding jobs to the school’s emphasis on networking and the fact that many of the state’s judges, legislators and other public officials are alumni of the school, which is marking its 40th anniversary.
"Richardson alumni make up 30 percent of the bar," Kawakami said. "I think it’s really amazing the school has grown up and the students have grown up and graduated and are movers and shakers in the community."
