HLS has been trying to attract more professors since 1989, according to Clark, not just in response to students' needs but to add "more intellectual horsepower in various academic fields," including intellectual and cyberspace law.

Story Professor of Law Daniel J. Meltzer, who chairs the SPI steering committee, says that the school needs to recruit more faculty to some of its departments.

"My own view is that for many reasons, the school would be strengthened by an increase in faculty," Meltzer writes in an e-mail message. "That would reduce the student-faculty ratio and permit smaller classes."

"[Hiring new faculty] would also permit us to expand our teaching program; though we offer a broader set of course offerings than any other law school, there remain areas where we would like to do better still," Meltzer writes.

A source close to the committee says the ILC is considering a proposal to add a second smaller section to a first-year's course load of one elective, four large courses and a small section. Clark says establishing the second small section can be accomplished without a large change to the overall student-faculty ratio at HLS.

The large courses have about 140 people, while smaller sections are 45 people at most, according to Cooper. Cooper says most students like the increased interaction and personal attention offered by the smaller sections.

Shifting resources from other courses, hiring several new faculty and encouraging professors who teach higher level courses to teach in smaller sections can all be part of the solution, according to Clark.