The ABA Journal: Despite a dramatic cut nationwide of four percent in firm staffing of attorneys last year, law school applications increased by three percent. The piece, which cites a National Law Journal report, says that the increase is partially due to applicants covering their bases with more instances of multiple applications.
An industry expert, James Liepold, said that the increase in applications is typical in a recession environment. With economic uncertainty, more people are looking to graduate level programs rather than taking their chances with the job market.
Since they are less expensive, public law schools saw a larger increase over their private counterparts. There was also a significant increase in male applicants over female ones.