On Oct. 9, the Elon University School of Law issued a press release announcing its “groundbreaking new model” of legal education. That’s an overstatement, but the plan has some distinctly positive elements. Unfortunately, it also continues to rely on the prevailing law school business model that has produced the profession’s current crisis.
Located in Greensboro, N.C., Elon was founded in 2006 and received American Bar Association accreditation in 2008—as the Great Recession began. In one sense, the timing was good, because many undergraduates thought law school was a safe place to spend three years waiting for the economy to improve. That option looked especially attractive at the time because the ABA didn’t require schools to disclose whether recent graduates were obtaining meaningful J.D.-required jobs. By 2010, Elon achieved a record-high first-year enrollment of 132 students. Tuition for 2009-10 was $30,750 a year.
