Vermont Law School

State’s Only Law School Considers Move

Vermont Law School may be relocating.

Officials at the state’s only law school are currently working on restructuring plans that include an option of relocating the law school campus to the city of Burlington, Valley News reports.

FINANCIAL STABILITY

Law schools have been struggling in recent years with a decline in applications.

And while the COVID-19 pandemic, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and social turmoil have helped boost those numbers in recent months, many law schools are strategizing how to maintain financial stability for the long haul.

“VLS, like other law schools, is looking at options to improve its financial health, and the law school is looking at essentially all options that are available to it,” Glenn Berger, a retired energy lawyer who graduated from VLS in 1978, tells Valley News.

POSSIBLE PATHS

VLS officials are currently considering two potential options in restructuring: either keep the campus in South Royalton or move to Burlington.

One possibility of the strategic plan includes increasing the ranks of students in the graduate programs to benefit students who want to specialize in more specific fields of study rather than emphasizing solely on a traditional law degree.

Additionally, the law school may also consider launching other specialized programs similar to its recent restorative justice program, which allows students to specialize in the topic.

VLS has a long history in South Royalton. In 1973, the law school held its first classes in the then old South Royalton schoolhouse. Berger says the law school’s ties to South Royalton are significant.

“That’s very important,” he tells Valley News. “The real focus of this is what can we do to change our curriculum and change our structure in order to create a sustainable model to stay in South Royalton.”

Sources: Valley News, Vermont Law School, Tipping the Scales