Building Belonging: Proven Methods to Decrease Attrition and Best Serve Law Students

Authors

Leila Lawlor, Washington and Lee University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Tennessee Law Review

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

A crucial task for legal educators is to determine how to retain our students, especially those who may be most vulnerable to attrition first-generation students and students of color. This article looks at nine similarly situated ABA-accredited law schools and assesses these schools' success at retaining their students. The nine schools are all public, operate both part-time and full-time J.D. programs, generally enjoy above average diversity, and have somewhat similar national rankings. The nine schools also report similar median LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs of recent incoming classes. The overall attrition rates and attrition rates for students of color vary somewhat among these schools; however, taken as a whole, the nine schools showed a downward trend in attrition over the eleven years studied. Law school applications have increased during the several years, a trend seen both nationally and within the schools studied for this article. This upward trend in the number of applications has enabled law school admissions teams to be more selective, yielding a corresponding upward trend in median LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs. While this trend may partially explain the simultaneous decrease in attrition, the reduction in attrition can also be tied to increased, intentional efforts to retain students.

Interviews were conducted with the nine schools' academic success directors, other law school administrators and faculty, and alumni to determine methods that are most effective in retaining students. These successful methods can be divided into three general categories: (1) providing friendly, readily available, visible assistance to students with pending needs; (2) incorporating specific, important lessons in academic success programming; and (3) intentionally building an immediate, caring community. Within each of these three categories, specific approaches and procedures were identified. A practical, hands-on model of best practices was developed from this study of successful institutions and from the guidance of experienced law school educators, administrators, and alumni.

Recommended Citation

Leila Lawlor, Building Belonging: Proven Methods to Decrease Attrition and Best Serve Law Students, 91 Tenn. L. Rev. 165 (2023).