The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reviewed this bill and states the following:

The Coordinating Board does not recommend establishing a new law school at this time.  While Texas has fewer lawyers per population than the nation as a whole, there is no definitive evidence that there is a shortage of lawyers statewide or in the Metroplex.  In addition, Texas baccalaureate graduates (on a statewide basis) have about the same opportunity to attend law school as graduates of other states.

Given the limited resources of the state, the Board suggests that the Legislature should consider establishing a new law school when there is more compelling evidence of demand for additional lawyers. 

Legal Education in Texas:

·               Texas has four public law schools and five independent law schools.  Public law schools are located at Texas Southern University (Houston), Texas Tech University (Lubbock), the University of Houston, and The University of Texas at Austin.  Independent law schools are located at Baylor University (Waco), St. Mary’s University (San Antonio), South Texas College of Law (Houston), Southern Methodist University (Dallas), and Texas Wesleyan University (Fort Worth).

·               In 2003, there were 2,248 graduates from Texas law schools, with 51 percent (1,145) of them graduating from the public law schools.

Workforce Demand

• Determining the number of lawyers that Texas needs to serve its population is especially difficult because of a lack of a recognized (government or professional) standard for the desired ratio of lawyers per population.  In 2003, the Texas average of 292 lawyers per 100,000 was lower than national average (364) and the average of the 10 most populous states (386).  However, this measure alone is not sufficient to suggest that Texas has a lawyer shortage.  In addition, the Metroplex has the third highest lawyer-per-population ratio in the state at 343, fairly close to the national average.  (The Gulf Coast Houston area region had the most lawyers per 100,000 population at 406, and the Central Texas region had the next highest at 390.)

• The need for legal services does not depend on population alone, but on other factors such as level of economic activity in the community.  In a 2000 study, the Coordinating Board staff found that the number of lawyers per billion dollars of aggregate personal income in the Metroplex (103) was nearly identical to the state average of 106.  (Aggregate Personal Income is highly correlated to Gross State Product as an index of business activity.  Aggregate Personal Income is available on a county and regional basis while Gross State Product is not.)

• In 2003, the number of Texas law school graduates who passed the State Bar Exam (1980) was approximately equal to the number of jobs filled in Texas by new U.S. law graduates, 89 percent of which were graduates of Texas law schools.   

Opportunity to Attend Law School

• In a 2001 study, the Coordinating Board staff concluded that Texas citizens had an “average statewide opportunity” (as indicated by the measures below) to attend law school compared to residents in the 10 most populous states.  Texas awarded 29 baccalaureate degrees per entering law school seat (the number of matriculates in Texas law schools in 2001).  This number was identical to the average of the 10 most populous states.  In addition, 58 percent of Texas residents who applied to law school in 2001 were enrolled in law school that year.  This percentage was near the average of 56 percent for the 10 most populous states.

• The Coordinating Board recognizes that residents from the Metroplex are under-represented in Texas public law schools.  In 2004, 16 percent of students enrolled in Texas public law schools indicated they were from the Metroplex while 27 percent of the state’s population resides in the Metroplex.  However, two independent law schools in the Metroplex draw students from that area. The Coordinating Board recognizes, however, that the cost of attending law school at independent institutions can be cost prohibitive. (Tuition can be as high as $25,000 a year.)  While loans are available to students at all law schools, the large debts students must accumulate can be a deterrent to enrollment at independent law schools.

Cost to Establish a New Law School

·         The Coordinating Board estimates that five-year start-up costs for a new law school in Dallas would be $36.6 million.  If the UNT System did not require the construction of a new building to house the school during this early period, the costs are estimated to be $23.1 million.