Missouri law schools lag in effort to diversify

ST. LOUIS -- In spite of efforts to increase diversity, the percentage of black students enrolled at Missouri law schools has remained stagnant and in some cases declined.

Washington University has the state's highest percentage of black law students -- but even that St. Louis school falls below the national average.

"We're a long way from being wildly proud of where we are," said Kent Syverud, dean of the Washington University School of Law. He said the school is still below the national average enrollment of about 7 percent. "We have a lot more work to do."

Missouri is not alone, according to a report Sunday in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Black law school enrollment nationally has declined since it reached a peak in 1994, according to data from the Law School Admission Council.

Missouri lags behind the national average, according to figures in a recent report released by the Mound City Bar Association, the oldest black bar group west of the Mississippi.

The trend produces a snowball effect. Large St. Louis-based firms, which do much of their recruiting locally, continue to lag the country in employing minority lawyers.

The bar association study examines diversity efforts by the law schools at Saint Louis and Washington universities as well as the University of Missouri's law schools in Columbia and Kansas City. The report looks at enrollment between the 2002 to 2003 and the 2004 to 2005 school years.

"Our report shows that diversity initiatives are not yielding their desired results. There's definitely been a decline in Missouri law schools," said Pamela Meanes, president of the Mound City Bar and a partner at St. Louis-based Thompson Coburn LLP.

"I expected the numbers to be higher," Meanes said.

Meanes pointed out that the percentage of black law students at Saint Louis University dropped to 4.1 percent in the 2004 to 2005 period from 5.6 percent in 2002 to 2003.

Washington University showed a slight increase in black enrollment, with the percentage rising to 6.2 percent from 5.8 percent. But the numbers are still small. Out of the total 2004 to 2005 law school enrollment of 756, just 47 students were black.

St. Louis University School of Law would not comment past a statement that said Missouri law schools have a long history of graduating hundreds of excellent black lawyers.

Some blame the trend on the importance schools place on Law School Admission Test scores.

Blacks tend to score lower on LSATs than other groups, which diminishes their chances of being admitted to law school, according to research cited in the Mound City bar report.

The National Bar Association issued a report last May that said law schools rely too much on the LSAT. That's keeping black students out of law schools, according to the largest black lawyers organization.

"Over-emphasis on the LSAT and the damaging effect this is having on the diversity of the legal profession is the real story that needs to be told about law school admissions and accreditation practices," the National Bar report said.

Syverud said the problem can't be solved overnight.

"We need to make law school a more welcoming environment with a diverse faculty and student activities," Syverud said. "I don't expect a miracle short term, but steady progress with a lot of effort from the law schools and the bar."