National law student diversity remained stable this year, but enrollment of Black and Hispanic first-year students at the nation’s most prestigious law schools declined sharply, with Black enrollment falling 8% and Hispanic enrollment dropping 9%. Experts warn this could mark the beginning of a “cascade effect” caused by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to ban affirmative action in college admissions.
Declining Diversity at Elite Institutions
The American Bar Association (ABA) released enrollment data this week for the first law school class admitted after the Supreme Court decision. While Black students continue to comprise nearly 8% of all first-year law students and Hispanic students make up just over 14% nationally, their presence at the top-ranked T-14 law schools has decreased.
Collectively, T-14 schools enrolled 356 Black first-year students this year, down 31 from 2023, while Hispanic enrollment fell to 498 from 547. These declines occurred despite a 2.6% overall increase in first-year enrollment at T-14 schools and a surge in the racial diversity of the applicant pool, with Black applicants rising by 7% and Hispanic applicants increasing by nearly 10%.
Harvard Law School saw one of the largest drops, enrolling only 19 Black first-year students compared to 43 last year. Harvard University was a defendant in the Supreme Court case that struck down affirmative action, alleging discrimination against Asian-American applicants in favor of other minority groups.
However, some elite schools bucked the trend. Stanford Law School and three other T-14 institutions increased the number of both Black and Hispanic students in their incoming classes.
The Cascade Effect and Broader Implications
Experts point to the “cascade effect,” where students of color who might have been admitted to elite schools under previous policies now enroll at less-selective institutions. This trend, first observed in undergraduate education after state affirmative action bans, appears to be taking hold in law school admissions.
Nikia Gray, executive director of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), expressed concern about the long-term consequences of this shift. “It’s the start of a downward trend in the diversity of our profession,” she said, emphasizing that top law schools serve as pipelines for prestigious legal jobs, including positions at major law firms, judicial clerkships, and judgeships.
Aaron Taylor, executive director of the AccessLex Center for Legal Education, noted that more data is needed to identify where diverse students are enrolling. Meanwhile, Verna Williams, CEO of Equal Justice Works, stressed the high stakes of declining diversity at elite schools. “It’s going to be reflected in who is hired in Big Law and for clerkships, and who becomes a judge,” she said.
Signs of Hope and New Challenges
Despite the overall decline, some schools’ ability to increase diversity demonstrates that racial representation is still possible in a post-affirmative action era. The ABA’s revised methodology, which now includes nonresident students in individual racial categories, also contributed to an increase in Asian enrollment at most T-14 schools.
However, diversity advocates caution that these gains may not offset the broader impact of affirmative action bans. “The data is concerning,” said Gray. “We need to focus on ensuring that students of color can access the legal education and opportunities they deserve.”
As the legal profession grapples with these changes, the ripple effects will shape its future, from the demographics of Big Law to the composition of the judiciary.
