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Georgia State University College of LawReading RoomInception Documents Historical Materials9-5-1974Memorandum re: Georgia Bar Special CommitteeReport on EstablishmentGeorgia State University College of LawFollow this and additional works at: https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/inceptionThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Historical Materials at Reading Room. It has been accepted for inclusion in InceptionDocuments by an authorized administrator of Reading Room. For more information, please contact mbutler@gsu.edu.Institutional Repository CitationGeorgia State University College of Law, "Memorandum re: Georgia Bar Special Committee Report on Establishment" (1974).Inception Documents. 5.https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/inception/5MEMORANDUM TO: President Noah Langdale, Jr. SUBJECT: Report of the Establishment September 5, 1974 of the State Bar on the t Georgia State University I have carefully reviewed the subject report., of which you have a copy, and find the essence of the report to be the following: first, that the new facility should be committed to the highest quality education without diluting the high quality of existing law schools; and second, if the Regents decide to create a new facility, it should offer a permanent evening program. Some specific points of interest include the following: Tables comparing the number of applications received by the accredited Georgia law schools and number of persons taking the LSAT test by State are presented. (Tables 1& 2, pp. 2-3) At the level of applicants in rec~nt years it is reported that between 125 and 200 Georgians "that could successfully complete Georgia·s law program" are.not admitted to the University of Georgia Law School. (p.8) Reference is made to a report on legal education in the Southeast undertaken by A. Kenneth Pye for the Southern Regional Education Board which focused on the issues of an unmet need for legal services and also the number of qualified persons who desire to study law. Mr. Pye does not conclude that no new law schools should be built in the Southeast in the iumediate future, and in particular, he notes that a law school offering classes in an evening division in major urban areas may constitute a special need justifying the allocation of resources. (p.lO) A report of Millard H. Ruud, Executive Director of the Association of American Law Schools, is cited stating that the trend toward ~ law schools is particu-larly explained by the fact that for the first time, in the fall of 1973, there was not a single unfilled seat in the entering first year class of any ABA approved law school in the country. (p.12) In Georgia, there have been few, if any, empty seats in an entering law school class at Emory, Mercer or the University of Georgia for several years. (p.13) The Task Force on Professional Utilization of the American Bar Association unanimously concluded the following: President Langdale, Jr. September 5, 1974 Page Two 1. There is no conclusive evidence to indicate that there are now or are likely to be in the forseeable future more legally trained men and women than can be satisfactorily and productively employed. 2. The existence of a large pool of well-qualified legally trained individuals constitutes a major opportunity and should be viewed as a significant national resource ..• ••• 4. No limitation or restriction ought to be placed on the number of qualified individuals entering the legal profession by arbitrarily restricting the number of places in law schools or unnecessarily raising bar admission standards. 5. While the expansion of existing law school facilities and the creation of new facilities should be undertaken with caution so as not to dilute the quality of educational resources, if the demand for legal education continues at the present or higher levels, facilities should be provided for all qualified individuals seeking to study law. (pp. 13-14) Recently the United States Department of Labor increased its estimate of average annual openings for lawyers from 14.000 to 16,500. (p.14) The report states, however, that placement of law school graduates has become more difficult in recent years in the Southeast. Of the 206 graduates of the University of Georgia, 25 remained unplaced as of July 19. 1974. A recent survey of seventeen southeastern law schools indicated that (only) 71% of the graduates were placed by the end of the academic year. This was couched in the negative, but perhaps in reality it represents a significant acceptance of new law school graduates. (pp. 16-17) A recent study prepared by Charles D. Kelso for the Association of American Law Schools explored the nature of legal education offered at classes during the evening and concluded that such evening legal education, when undertaken with a commitment to adequate resources, has a continuing role to play in training lawyers. (p.18) EAZ:acb cc: Provost William M. Suttles c Zubay Vice President for Academic Affairs 

Memorandum re: Georgia Bar Special Committee Report on Establishment

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Memorandum re: Georgia Bar Special Committee Report on Establishment

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Georgia State University College of Law: Reading Room

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