DeanWuBlog

Publicity

This time of the year, law school deans are inundated with promotional materials from virtually every school in the nation – glossy, thick, well-produced periodicals, hardcover books, and trinkets ranging from bookmarks to mugs to flashlights to loupes, emblazoned with logos and slogans. Most deans likely take no more than a moment to glance at these items, long enough to be impressed by the cost rather than the substance. Nonetheless, much as law firms have had to market themselves as businesses, so too law schools have no choice but to compete. We are locked into the ratcheting effect of the exercise. Just as law firms have had to raise associate salaries to maintain their rank even if it is barely rational for their clients to pay the resulting billing rates, law schools must constantly strive to outdo their peers.

So it is no longer enough to be good; one must ensure others are aware of how good one believes oneself to be. Evolutionary psychologists who study human nature would counsel us that, even if these efforts have no intrinsic value, they convey information: the school that can afford to spend vast sums of money on advertising is sending at least the message that it has those vast sums of money at its disposal.

I recently received a message from another law school dean. I admire his decision. He said he would refrain from participating in this frenzy, preferring to invest institutional resources “toward scholarshops and educational programming.” Of course, he is no fool. He did wish to inform his peers “of recent developments” at his school. To do so, he relied on digital versions of the same publications that otherwise would have been distributed in hard copy at great cost. He also has been a pioneer in academic blogging. His very declaration of principle ironically has positive PR value.

We do our best to distinguish ourselves on the merits, first and foremost, without neglecting the importance of marketing. We are preparing a series of flyers that target specific types of potential students: out-of-state; highly-credentialed; non-traditional; and so on. We also are developing a series of brochures on the areas in which we boast exceptional strength: health law, international law, intellectual property, tax, among others.