Study of the Supply of and Demand for Law School Graduates in Maryland.

This report examined 10-year trends in applications to Maryland's two law schools (the University of Baltimore School of Law and the University of Maryland School of Law), enrollment, and the first-time passage rates of graduates on the Maryland Bar Examination. Breakdowns by gender and race are also provided. The study also explored the projected need for lawyers in the state through the year 2005 and reviewed the results of surveys of graduates from the two law schools regarding employment. It was found that applications to Maryland's two law schools declined by 42 percent between 1992 and 1997, although enrollments remained relatively constant during the period. For the past four years, a substantial majority of graduates who have taken the bar examination administered in July passed it on their first try. It was also found that although at least 80 percent of 1996 graduates reported that they had full-time jobs within six to nine months of graduation, less than two-thirds of these graduates were working in full-time legal positions. The report also found that employment for lawyers in Maryland is expected to grow 29 percent from 1992 to 2005. (MDM)