Summary: Albany Law School has a plan in mind to bounce back from the weakened legal job market.
According to the Albany Business Journal, Alicia Ouellette, the president of Albany Law School, is planning to expand the programs at the school around the innovation economy and business transactions. The plan is one of several in mind to help the school overcome the lingering effects of a weakened economy and a subpar legal job market.
The school has suffered from a decline in enrollment, as have most other law schools across the country.
The school and the University at Albany were finalizing their affiliation in June.
Ouellette has served as the school’s president and dean since July. She added that the school will hire faculty to grow programs that prepare students to complete all phases of a business transaction and address legal challenges in the innovation economy, such as intellectual property rights.
Ouellette explained, “We’re trying to grow in a smart direction, using a lot of data analysis, market analysis. So we’re not at a time in our history where we can just be carefree and try any idea anyone has.”
Ouellette graduated from Albany Law herself. She previously worked as the associate dean for academic affairs and intellectual life before she became dean and then president. According to TimesUnion.com, she was recently inaugurated as dean of Albany Law.
Ouellette added, “We’re at a time in our history where we recognize a lot of opportunity. We recognize by growing right now, we’re able to bring talent to school we might not be able to attract at another time.”
Ouellette also said that the law school is analyzing its numbers to determine what a good size for the school may be in the future. The school is an independent law school, making it a member of a small niche of law schools in the United States. The school has an impressive history. Alumni include Albany Mayor Kathy Sheeham, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a former president, and several U.S. Supreme Court Justices.
This fall, the school enrolled 127 first-year students. Total enrollment at the school was 415 students.
Some of the faculty took voluntary buyouts last year.
Nationwide, law school enrollment decreased by 17.5 percent from 2010 to 2014. During that same time frame, enrollment at Albany Law dropped by 38 percent, down to 477 students from 771 students.
Source: Albany Business Review
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