Law Schools Are Losing The Charms

In the episode, we’re tackling the crisis quietly unfolding in American legal education. Applications are plummeting, and for the first time in decades, law schools are fighting over a shrinking pool of talent. But is this just about cost, or is something deeper happening?We’re seeing campuses transform into political battlegrounds—where admissions, hiring, and even curriculum are being scrutinized through a hyper-partisan lens. The Socratic method is being sidelined for activism, and institutional neutrality is a thing of the past. As the schools lean left or right, they risk alienating half the country and producing graduates ill-prepared for a fractured profession.The future of law? It’s fragmented. Corporate firms are hiring coders over clerks, and public interest is drowning in debt. Is the JD still worth it? Today, we separate the politics from the precedent.Guest info: Professor Paul Campos is a law professor, author and blogger on the faculty of the University of Colorado Boulder in Boulder. Campos received his A.B. and M.A. in English from the University of Michigan and in 1989 his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.