http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/02/18/hamline_william_mitchell_merger_the_law_school_bust_claims_its_first_victim.html
Burnt to a Crisp: On February 18, 2015, Slate published a Jordan Weissmann piece entitled “The Great Law School Bust Is About to Claim Its First Victim.” Look at this opening:
“In 2014, law schools watched their new enrollment numbers collapse to lows not seen since the 1970s, as the tales of horror and woe from the legal job market continued to scare off would-be applicants. The lack of students has, of course, presented some financial difficulties for the academy. Schools have tried to tighten up their budgets in response (one especially oversize[d] J.D. mill even closed a campus), but it was starting to seem inevitable that at least one would have to shut down entirely.
We haven't quite reached that point. However, two law schools in St. Paul, Minnesota, have now announced plans to merge in order to stay afloat. Pending approval from the American Bar Association, Hamline University School of Law and William Mitchell College of Law will combine their operations starting next fall. The reports make it sound, more or less, like Hamline is getting absorbed by its old rival. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the new school will operate "independently" of Hamline—mostly out of William Mitchell's campus—and will be headed by William Mitchell's current dean. No word yet on layoffs.” [Emphasis mine]
It’s great to see mainstream publications using terms such as “JD mill.” Remember when such phrases were only being employed by scambloggers? Thanks to watershed articles from David Segal of the New York Times and the efforts of Paul Campos and Brian Tamanaha, it became acceptable for others to take a swing at the law school pigs.
Now, scroll down to Weissmann’s conclusion:
“According to an American Bar Association spokesman, this is the first time "in memory" that two accredited law schools have merged. (The ABA does not keep records of law school closings on hand, but the spokesman said no staff knew of any similar instances.) As far as the organization knows, no accredited law school has ever closed outright, either. But don't be shocked if it eventually happens.” [Emphasis mine]
I covered this TTT merger in my prior entry. However, this is an important moment in U.S. “legal education.” The cockroaches will need to decide whether they want to extend the scam until the old farts on the faculty retire or end up in wooden coats, at the expense of keeping their respective commodes viable long-term.
https://www.minnpost.com/education/2015/02/why-william-mitchell-and-hamline-law-had-merge
Other Coverage: On February 18, 2015, Adam Wahlberg posted a MinnPost article headlined “Why William Mitchell and Hamline Law had to merge.” Check out the following excerpt:
“There are a lot of reasons the merger of Hamline University and William Mitchell College of Law makes sense. But it’s also clear that they had to do this. That’s why the news was released on a Friday with a minimal amount of hurrahs. It’s a downsizing, not an occasion to throw confetti…
Minnesota is conspicuous by its abundance of law students, and right-sizing has arrived. The boom times are over, and the 2008 recession won. Last year Hamline had just 90 [first year] students, making it one of only 25 law schools in the country with fewer than 100 [first year] students. Hamline fought back as best it could. It zealously marketed, particularly its weekend JD track, which was apparent to anyone who walked through the downtown Minneapolis skyway system. But the enrollment numbers at both Hamline and William Mitchell were still down, in no small part thanks to each school’s tuition (holding steady at $30,000 for each) and job reports from the market (holding steady at fairly abysmal).
And so Mitchell|Hamline School of Law was born out of necessity. It may take a while before it looks good on a sweatshirt.” [Emphasis mine]
Does anyone with an IQ above room temperature think that Mitchell|Hamline Sewer of Law will look good on a damn diploma?!?! Hell, they ought to issue these degrees on two-ply toilet paper. That’s about all your “education” is worth to employers, Lemming.
Later on, the piece contained this little nugget:
“[TTT Dean Jean] Holloway’s predecessor, Don Lewis, who today is in practice at Nilan Johnson Lewis, echoes Holloway’s sentiment, while noting that such a merger is close to unprecedented in American jurisprudence.
“There have been only a couple other mergers of this magnitude,” said Lewis. “Michigan State and Detroit College of Law did one many years back, and about five years ago so did the University of New Hampshire and the Franklin Pierce Law Center.
Those are the only ones I know of.” Those are the only ones so far, though there are rumors in the legal world about Vermont Law School and the University of Vermont pulling the trigger.”[Emphasis mine]
Don’t forget that Texas A&M University purchased a toilet formerly known as Texas Wesleyan SOL; Rutgers-Newark supposedly merging with Rutgers-Camden; Western Michigan University partnering with TTTT Cooley Law Sewer; various ABA commodes admitting students from the parent university without making them take the LSAT; accredited law schools in lily white areas targeting kids from Historically Black College$ and Univer$itie$; trash pits advertising on city buses; dung heaps continually admitting first year classes with declining LSAT scores and UGPAs; etc. Do you feel that the bitches and hags are resorting to such measures because they are doing so well?!?!
Conclusion: You can bet your ass that I am enjoying the hell out of this development. Don’t feel sorry for the pigs and cockroaches. If you start to do so, then just think of all the young lives that they have FINANCIALLY RUINED over the years. In the event that you are still sorrowful for the academic thieves, go ahead and jump into freeway traffic. By the way, it will be great to see the “educator” swine apply for actual jobs – where they will be expected to be productive – especially positions where they will no longer suck on the federal teat.