Join Dean of Admissions Sarah Zearfoss and Professor Sam Erman for a wide-ranging discussion of the future of law school admissions. With many commentators predicting a June 2023 Supreme Court decision flatly barring racial preferences in higher education, the process for entering law school is set to undergo a sea change nationwide. (Though perhaps less of one here at Michigan Law School, which has been subject to a state ban on race and gender affirmative action since 2006). In anticipation of such a change, this mini-seminar will tackle such questions as:
* What is the purpose of law school and law-school admissions? What should be the goals of an admissions policy?
* How will pre-admission outreach, admissions decisions, and post-admissions recruiting change? Will their relative importance shift?
* In what, if any, ways will race remain relevant to admissions?
* How could schools “cheat” to consider race notwithstanding a bar? Should they?
* What types of affirmative action will be permissible? Will a ban create new opportunities? Will schools such as Michigan, Berkeley, and the University of Washington have a competitive advantage, given its experience with a ban on racial affirmative action?
* Will competition with other law schools and U.S. News and World Report rankings impede effective responses?
Meeting Information
Dates: Mondays: 9/26, 10/10, 11/7, 11/14, 11/21 and 11/28
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Location: Professor Erman’s home (one mile from the Law School)