Next On the Agenda? Will Law Schools Need A Bailout?

Some people tend to think there are too many law schools in the world (see generally: any ATL post on schools outside of the T14). I agree, even though I do not attend one of the Blessed: there are far more law schools in the U.S. than should reasonably exist, and the ABA just keeps accrediting these Madoff-esque institutions with impunity. A similar problem exists with the TTT-equivalent of undergraduate institutions: the middle of the road liberal arts college. There are too many mediocre liberal arts schools tricking gullible students (and their parents) into shelling out big bucks to get a bad education that will be no more helpful in gaining a job than would have been hanging shingles. Well, it should come as no surprise that the Recession is starting to hammer at the foundations of these schools.

This got me to thinking: what if law schools begin to get gutted as a result of the continuing recession? I mean, everyone knows that the Big Boys are getting crushed, and, as a result, have been cutting back at their respective law schools (among other cost-cutting measures that they've implemented). But, what about those non-Billion dollar club members that have law schools? What are they going to do if the economy does not pick up for a couple more seasons? How will they be able to continually justify tuition raises when it becomes apparent that the school's name is worth nothing more than the ink on the faux-lamb skin of the diploma? What about those new schools (save for UCI, of course, who will quickly become one the Blessed) and the students who continue enrolling and paying $30k+ to go to a garbage school?