Law School Applicant Pool Largest in 25 Years
Reuters: “Law school was a hot ticket in 2026, with an 8% increase in applicants hoping to spend the next three years getting a J.D. rather than enter a lackluster post-college job market.
That growth came on top of a blockbuster 2025, when the applicant pool surged 18% over the previous year. Nationwide, 82,484 people applied to an American Bar Association-accredited law school this year — the highest number since 2010, according to data from the Law School Admission Council.
ABA-accredited law schools enrolled a total of 42,817 new Juris Doctor students last year, suggesting that slightly more than half of 2026’s applicants are likely to show up on campus this fall. Official ABA enrollment figures won’t be released until December.”
“You’re looking at a significant increase over multiple years,” law school admission consultant Mike Spivey said of the growing applicant pool. “It means you have hyper competition to get into law school.”
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Duke Law
Duke Law Dean Stepping Down in 2027
Duke Law: “For Kerry Abrams the best part of being Duke Law’s fifteenth dean has always been summed up by a single word: community.
“Duke Law School has a culture of teamwork and collaboration like no school I have ever seen,” Abrams said.
Abrams became the James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean of the School of Law and professor of law on July 1, 2018. She arrived from the University of Virginia where she had served as vice provost for faculty affairs and as a member of law faculty, where she taught courses and published articles on family and immigration law.
“Kerry Abrams has been an exceptional dean, leading Duke Law School through a remarkable period of growth in faculty excellence, student success, philanthropic support, and alumni and community engagement,” said Provost Alec D. Gallimore.”
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Vermont Law School
Vermont Law Names New Dean
Vermont Business Magazine: “The Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) Board of Trustees today announced that it has named Melissa Hoffer as the institution’s next president.
Hoffer, the first-ever climate chief in Massachusetts and a former appointee in the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration who served as acting general counsel and principal deputy general counsel, will soon head north to VLGS. Her presidency will begin on December 1, 2026.
“I am honored and thrilled to join Vermont Law and Graduate School as its next president. VLGS has long been a national leader in environmental law and policy and public interest law, and the institution is uniquely positioned to lead in this time of momentous and intersecting challenges,” said Hoffer. “I cannot wait to get to work with the VLGS community and help build on its remarkable legacy of educating leaders who are ready to make a difference.”
As president, Hoffer will work to ensure VLGS continues to deliver outstanding academic programs that weave together teaching, service, scholarship and research, while helping the school build on its distinctive identity and elevate its reach and impact.”
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