David Kirschner, Associate Dean of Admissions, Financial Aid, and Innovation at USC Gould School of Law, has been appointed Chair of the Schools and Candidates Committee for the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) Board of Trustees. The appointment places Kirschner in a leadership role on one of LSAC’s most significant standing committees for a two-year term.
“This is arguably the standing committee with the largest portfolio of oversight at LSAC,” Kirschner said. “As the name of the committee indicates, it oversees all school-facing services, such as the annual education conference and the yearly new admissions professionals workshop, as well as candidate-facing services like the LSAC-sponsored recruitment forums and virtual fairs, the national recruitment calendar, and allegations of misconduct and irregularity in the admissions process.”
Kirschner brings substantial LSAC experience to the role, having previously served as Chair of the Emerging Markets & Innovation Committee on the Board of Trustees. This background, he said, provides a foundation for stepping into the new position with clarity and momentum.
“My prior service on the LSAC Board of Trustees…has me in a position where I am ready to hit the ground running,” he explained. “I have a strong understanding of the role and expectations of a committee chair, as well as a degree of comfort with how the board functions.”
He also noted the strength of the team he will be working with, including LSAC liaison Gisele Joachim and new Board Chair Rebecca Scheller. “Having relationships with both Rebecca and Gisele, I expect a strong working dynamic.”
In this new role, Kirschner aims to strengthen the feedback channels between LSAC, law schools and prospective law students. “I hope to facilitate a system of feedback between schools and LSAC, as well as candidates and LSAC, whereby I can prioritize and filter that feedback and present issues and solutions to the LSAC Board of Trustees in an effort to improve communication and services.”
Kirschner’s involvement with LSAC spans multiple terms and key decision-making periods. “At the conclusion of this term, I will have served six of the past eight years on the board,” he noted. “Over this time, I have been part of the discussions and decisions that helped LSAC respond to COVID… as well as the move from the older LSAC database system to our new version, UNITE, and I have also had a voice in the important discussion over the future of standardized testing.”
For USC Gould, the appointment reinforces the school’s presence within national conversations on legal education.
“This is an opportunity for the law school to have a voice and representation amongst a group of the most well-respected individuals in the legal community,” Kirschner said.
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