Cornell Law School released its annual American Bar Association 509 report for the J.D. Class of 2027 on Dec. 16, revealing the demographics of the first class since the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision to end race-based affirmative action.
The report’s data showed that total people of color enrollment for the Class of 2027 was approximately 37 percent, increasing by approximately six percent compared to the Class of 2026.
Total people of color includes all students who self-identified as Hispanic, Native American, Asian, Black/African American, Pacific Islander or two or more races.
Cornell Law’s data showed several changes within specific minority demographic groups, absent Native American enrollment, which remained unchanged at approximately one percent.
Underrepresented minority composition within the J.D. Class of 2027 varied compared to the J.D. Class of 2026. Hispanic enrollment decreased the most, from approximately 13 percent to seven percent. However, Black/African American enrollment increased from approximately four percent to six percent.
Asian enrollment had the highest gains, from approximately 12 percent to 20 percent.
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Led Klosky, a first-year law student, stated that the relatively stagnant aggregate data may be because the full impact of the Supreme Court’s decision is not yet apparent.
“Systemic racism is a multi-generational affair, and any attempt to address it, whether a good plan or not, is unlikely or potentially even incapable of significant change overnight,” Klosky said.
Other Ivy League institutions reported varied results. Yale Law’s percentage of minority students decreased by 12 percent and Harvard Law’s dropped by eight percent. However, Stanford Law’s minority composition increased while the University of Pennsylvania’s remained unchanged.
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Comparatively, shares of Black, Native American and Hispanic students within Cornell’s undergraduate first-year enrollment dropped more starkly between the Class of 2027 and the Class of 2028. Black first-year undergraduate enrollment decreased by four percent, Hispanic enrollment decreased by 6.2 percent and Native American enrollment decreased by 0.8 percent.
Undergraduate first-year enrollment also saw a minimal increase in Asian enrollment by 0.2 percent.
2024 was also the first year the ABA added nonresident students, such as foreign exchange students, to race and ethnicity categories. It is unclear how, if at all, this has impacted minority composition.
Minority representation in law school has historically been underrepresented compared to nationwide population composition, although representation has steadily increased in recent years.
Black representation, comprising approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population, represented only 7.7 percent of first-year students in 2024 and 7.8 percent in 2023. Likewise, Hispanic representation, being approximately 19 percent of the U.S. population, comprised 14.2 percent of first-year students in 2024 and 14.17 percent in 2023.
In an interview with The Sun, Prof. William A. Jacobson, law, stated that he believes law schools may still be using race to influence admissions decisions through “workarounds,” such as diversity essays.
Jacobson is the founder of the Equal Protection Project, which has filed over 30 Civil Rights Complaints against education institutions with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, mostly surrounding race-based scholarships.
Cornell Media Relations declined to comment on the report and how Cornell Law intends to maintain a diverse student body following the Supreme Court decision.