AALS Acquires Rosenblatt’s Deans Database to Bolster Legal Education Resources
By Legal Education Correspondent
Published August 15, 2025
Washington, D.C. – The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) has officially acquired Rosenblatt’s Deans Database (RDD), a comprehensive resource on law school leadership, effective August 15, 2025. Developed by Dean Emeritus Jim Rosenblatt of Mississippi College School of Law and hosted at lawdeans.com, the database is a vital tool for tracking law school deans’ tenures, demographics, and career trajectories. This acquisition enhances AALS’s mission to advance legal education by providing real-time data to law deans, search committees, and researchers.
A Wealth of Data for Legal Education
Launched in 2007, Rosenblatt’s Deans Database offers detailed insights into the 201 current U.S. law school deans, including:
- Length of Service: Tracks current and cumulative tenures, with Joseph D. Kearney of Marquette University Law School as the longest-serving dean at 22.14 years and Yair Listokin of Yale Law School among the newest at 0.02 years.
- Demographics: Includes gender, ethnicity, and combined ethnicity-gender breakdowns.
- Career Paths: Details prior positions, post-deanship roles, law schools attended, and interim deanships.
- Institutional Data: Covers administrative information about law schools and their leadership transitions.
Hosted by Mississippi College School of Law, the RDD’s real-time updates ensure accuracy, unlike static printed lists. Its accessibility—free to law deans, search committees, university officials, and the public—has made it a go-to resource for understanding law school leadership dynamics.
Strategic Acquisition for AALS
The AALS, a nonprofit representing 174 member and 19 fee-paid law schools, announced the acquisition to strengthen its data resources for legal educators. The RDD will integrate with AALS’s LENS platform, which delivers weekly legal education news, and its Deans Dashboard, enhancing tools for faculty and administrators. Jim Rosenblatt, a former Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps officer and recipient of the AALS’s Deborah L. Rhode Award, will continue as a consultant, ensuring continuity.
“This acquisition aligns with our mission to advance excellence in legal education,” AALS stated on its website. “The RDD’s comprehensive data will empower our members to make informed decisions about leadership and institutional strategy.” The move follows AALS’s 125th anniversary, celebrated at its 2025 Annual Meeting, where the organization emphasized data-driven innovation for law schools.
Impact and Future Potential
The RDD’s data has already informed critical discussions, such as a 2025 Law.com analysis highlighting stagnant diversity among law school deans. By integrating the database, AALS aims to support research on leadership trends, diversity, and tenure patterns, potentially influencing dean search processes and policy decisions. The database’s IT enhancements, developed by Mississippi College’s IT Director and GNet Consulting’s Joel Firestone, ensure user-friendly access and instant updates.
Legal education experts see the acquisition as a step toward greater transparency and accountability in law school leadership. “The RDD is a treasure trove for understanding who leads our law schools and how they shape legal education,” said a spokesperson for Insight Into Diversity. With AALS’s resources, the database could expand to include more granular analytics or comparative studies across institutions.
Looking Ahead
As AALS assumes responsibility for the RDD, the organization plans to maintain its open-access model while exploring integrations with other data resources, such as the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. The acquisition underscores AALS’s commitment to equipping law schools with tools to navigate a rapidly evolving legal education landscape, from addressing diversity to preparing for accreditation changes.
For now, the RDD remains available at lawdeans.com, with updates sent to rosenbla@mc.edu. As AALS leverages this resource, it signals a new era of data-driven leadership in legal education, promising to shape the future of law school governance.
Sources: lens.aals.org, lawdeans.com, legalnewsfeed.com, www.aals.org, www.insightintodiversity.com, X Post by @lawdotcom