()

Legal educators are cautiously optimistic that the 2015-16 academic year will mark the low point for law school enrollment, and that the number of applicants next year will start to recover from a five-year slide.

“The long, dark days of declines are over, for the time being,” said Alfred Brophy, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law who tracks law school enrollment. “How much of a turnaround it will be, I don’t know. But if I’m a dean, I’m going to the central administration and saying, ‘Hey, keep us afloat for a little bit longer. Things are getting better.’ “