Just recently, we reported that lower enrollment would hit smaller schools hardest. And right on cue, it begins.

Staci Zaretsky of Above the Law reports.

Much-Maligned Law School Conducts Faculty And Staff Layoffs

Back in July, following the news of the possible purge of junior faculty at Seton Hall and the staff massacre at McGeorge, we wondered: “Which law school will be next?” With law school applications still in free fall, something, somewhere, had to give, and it certainly wasn’t going to be beautiful buildings, the price of tuition, the number of tenured professors, or their similarly splendid salaries.

No, the easiest way to save money — $4.4 million of it — is by dropping the unimportant human weight, and the most expendable souls seem to hail from the adjunct faculty and staff ranks at the latest law school to conduct layoffs. Which esteemed academy of legal education could it be?

We’ll give you a clue. The school is no stranger to controversy, seeing as it served as the origin of the very first law school lawsuit over deceptive employment statistics ever filed….

The law school in question is none other than the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and it is kicking off the new academic year with 12 fewer employees, thanks to a series of layoffs and budget cuts to the tune of a few million dollars. But that’s not all that got cut. Here are some additional details from U-T San Diego:

Thomas Guernsey, who took over [from Rudy Hasl] as dean of the school on July 1, said Thursday that some adjunct faculty and other staff members were laid off. Fourteen classes that had low enrollment or were highly specialized were eliminated, he said.

Lori Wulfemeyer, head of communications at the school, said the layoffs leave about 65 full-time employees at the school.

And why, pray tell, did the school have to cut $4.4 million from its 2013-2014 budget? It seems that TJSL optimistically expected to meet its regular enrollment goal of 350 new students, but only 250 have signed up thus far. “There are a number of law schools across the country having to adjust their budgets because of fewer applications coming in, and it finally hit us,” Wulfemeyer said in the school’s defense.