Interest in juris doctor degrees has waned during the past two years, but the news for law schools isn’t all bad: The number of students in non-J.D. programs has increased by 39 percent since 2005, according to figures released last month by the American Bar Association. By contrast, the number of first-year students enrolled in J.D. programs fell by 8 percent during that same period. ABA-accredited law schools this year enrolled 11,067 non-J.D. studentsrepresenting approximately one-quarter of the 44,518 first-year J.D. students.
The increase in non-J.D. students primarily reflects enrollment in master of laws (LL.M.) programs, but also students in non-law degree programs who want a little legal training. Law schools have rushed to add or expand LL.M. programs for foreign-trained lawyers and specialized LL.M.s for U.S. lawyers centered on fields including entrepreneurship, tax, health care, sports and maritime law. Law schools have billed those programs as giving graduates a leg up in the tough employment market, and as a way for practicing attorneys to break into new areas of law.
