I am fairly surprised at the amount of chatter about whether St John Fisher should open a law school in Rochester. I didn’t think that the potential of another institute of higher education would create such a stir except from the competition in Buffalo and Syracuse. Do we need another law school in NYS? Maybe not (I don’t need 50 pairs of shoes either but that doesn’t stop me). Do we need a Law School in Rochester — why not? I know many people who would make great lawyers who can’t go to law school now because they can’t commute — think single mothers, people who work already and are ready to chose law as another career. A law school here would resolve that issue, along with attracting other students to the area, many of whom will stay.

Are there too many lawyers already? Well maybe, but whether we have a law school in Rochester or not isn’t going to change the number of lawyers in the world. We have a dismal number of minority attorneys, maybe having a law school in Rochester can help to address that need. And, in my opinion, when all the people who want or need a lawyer can get one; when the poor and disenfranchised have FULL access to the Court and to our system of justice then maybe we can say there are enough lawyers. But that is not where we are now. The poor and working poor get turned away from services all the time; they often have no right to counsel and no way to access justice.

The caveat for Fisher is this: be mindful of the need for attorneys in the public interest. Be mindful of minority enrollment. Promote public interest law and help your students see how important it is to take the road less traveled. When you raise money, consider an endowment to assist in loan forgiveness for attorneys who dedicate themselves to public service. If they open a law school here I hope its a different kind of a law school. I hope Fisher finds its uniqueness in excellence and in finding a way to serve this community.

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