Tuition fees at private law schools rose an average of 4 per cent to $40,585 -- the first time fees have topped $40,000 -- while fees at state universities increased 6 per cent to $23,590, according to figures released by the National Law Journal.

Inflation busting

Although the increases at in both the private and public sectors were lower than last year when they were 5 and 9 per cent respectively, they remain significantly above the national rate of inflation, which is about 1.7 per cent.
Professor Brian Tamanaha, of Washington University St. Louis School of Law, said: ‘It’s strange to watch… why aren’t law schools announcing a decrease in their list price? That’s what you do when demand goes down.’
Academics have expressed concern that in a climate of reduced graduate jobs, large tuition fees may further put off applicants. Deborah Jones Merritt, professor at Ohio State University Michael E Moritz College of Law called the increase ‘professionally irresponsible’.

Privileged backgrounds

The rise in tuition fees does not reflect the increased number of scholarships that have been offered this year, as law schools attempt to offer incentives to bright students. The Post reported last month that the University of Illinois offered a scholarship to every new member of its law school, at a cost of $3.6m.
However, Professor Jerome Organ of St Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis speculated that the scholarships are unlikely to be enough to counter the increase in fees, pointing out that ‘merit’-based scholarships usually go to students from privileged backgrounds, at the expense of their peers.