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Women tip the scales of law schools

After steadily progressing in a field once dominated by men, women are expected to comprise the majority of newly enrolled law students when classes begin next fall.

The national trend, which has resulted in a 40 percent increase in the rate of female applicants, is representative of tendencies at Boston University.

It is estimated that the incoming class at the BU School of Law will be 51 percent women — with University projections estimating the percentage will increase to 57 percent by 2003, according to BU spokesman Colin Riley.

“This is a demographics issue. It reflects the pool of applicants,” Riley said.

Stephen Marks, associate dean at the School of Law said, “There has been a very profound change in the past 20 years,” though the increased numbers of women entering law school are not the result of active recruiting by the University or any special treatment of female applicants. “We have no affirmative action policy,” Riley said.

Instead, Marks suggested the increasing number of women applicants might be the result of a general increase in applicants across the board and not an indication of a loss of interest by men.

With the influx of women into law school, Marks said changes in the profession are eminent. The more women who go into the field, the more impact they will have on it, he said.

And as demographics change within the classroom, Marks said a change in teaching dynamics is inevitable.

“Naturally as more women enter the profession, more women will enter the educational profession of law. Changes [occur] whenever you provide more diversity in the teaching environment,” he said.

In 1970, roughly 10 percent of incoming law school classes were women, compared with data released by the American Bar Association reporting the number last year at about 49 percent. The increase has come throughout the past 30 years and this year, through March 9, the trend continued as more women than men had applied to law school.

Women may be taking the majority in law schools across the country, but they are still the minority in holding top-level positions, such as judgeships, professorial and partnership positions, the National Association of Law Placement reported. Nationally, of the 655 federal district court judges, only 136 are women, the Alliance for Justice reports. And according to The New York Times, while women represent 41 percent of all law associates in New York, fewer than 14 percent hold partnerships.

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