Love Hurts: Mich. Law Prof Explores Love and Heartache in Japanese Culture

Aug 1, 2011 7:40 AM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: How Much Should a Solo Charge? Did Ex-Law Dean Make ‘Unfortunate Comment’?

How Much Should a Solo Charge? At My Shingle, Washington, D.C., solo Carolyn Elefant distinguishes between advice on how solos should price their services and actual benchmarks. For benchmarks, she has some suggestions: • The Laffey Matrix lists available reimbursement rates under fee-shifting statutes. Though the rates skew high and…

Jul 29, 2011 2:32 PM CDT

Daniel Rodriguez, Former ‘Transformative Dean’ at San Diego, to Take Helm at Northwestern Law

A former law dean at the University of San Diego who is presently on the law faculty at the University of Texas will soon take the helm at Northwestern University School of Law. Daniel Rodriguez will start his position as NU’s new law dean on Jan. 1, the National Law…

Jul 27, 2011 4:59 PM CDT

Goodwin Liu Nominated to California Supreme Court After GOP Scuttles Federal Judicial Bid

University of California at Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu will likely be a judge after all. Liu’s nomination to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was blocked in May by a Republican filibuster. On Tuesday, California Gov. Jerry Brown announced his nomination of Liu to the California…

Jul 27, 2011 11:59 AM CDT

Law Profs Debate Whether 14th Amendment Makes Debt Ceiling Unconstitutional

Law professors disagree on whether the debt ceiling is unconstitutional under an obscure provision of the 14th Amendment. On Friday, President Obama rejected the idea, the New York Times reports. “I have talked to my lawyers,” he said. “They are not persuaded that that is a winning argument.” At issue…

Jul 25, 2011 4:48 PM CDT

For a Second Time, Widener Law Prof’s Classroom Hypos Pass University Review

A second panel reviewing classroom hypotheticals used by a Widener law professor has found the scenarios did not violate university standards. The panel found Lawrence Connell did not commit racial or sexual harassment by using hypotheticals involving the murder of Widener’s law dean, a black woman, report the National Law…

Jul 25, 2011 12:33 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Bloggers on New York Times’ Take on New York Law School, Its Outgoing Dean

The New York Times published a story last Saturday about law school economics—and New York Law School in particular. The article noted on the school’s large class size and $47,800 annual tuition and contrasted them with outgoing dean Richard Matasar’s statements in a 2009 speech that law schools are “exploiting”…

Jul 22, 2011 1:26 PM CDT

NY Law Dean Responds to Times Critique, Cites ‘Lifelong Value’ of Legal Education

Replying to a Sunday New York Times article on law school economics that obviously hit a nerve, the dean of New York Law School today said that prospective students are not, as the article seemingly implies, “sheep who do not know that we live in challenging economic times.” Many read…

Jul 19, 2011 8:43 PM CDT

Former Harvard Law Prof Elizabeth Warren Bypassed for Consumer Protection Bureau

President Obama is expected to nominate the chief of his new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today—and his pick won’t be Elizabeth Warren, the former Harvard law professor. Obama will tap former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, according to the Associated Press, the Washington Post and USA Today. Warren praised Cordray,…

Jul 18, 2011 2:18 PM CDT

New York Law School Dean Hits Legal Ed, But Hikes Class Size 30%

Updated: New York Law School Dean Richard Matasar claimed in 2009 that law schools are “exploiting” students who accumulate large student debt but don’t succeed. That same year, New York Law School increased the size of its first-year class by 30 percent, even as law firm hiring took a dive,…

Jul 18, 2011 11:43 AM CDT

Polygamist Family on ‘Sister Wives’ Plans Suit Challenging Utah Law

The polygamist family profiled on the Sister Wives reality TV show is planning to challenge Utah’s criminal ban on polygamy. The suit will not demand a right to polygamous marriage, the New York Times reports. Rather, it will contend Utah’s criminal penalties for polygamous unions are unconstitutional under Lawrence v.…

Jul 12, 2011 1:38 PM CDT

Law Student Offers to Donate Kidney to Prof’s Daughter

A Chicago law student who reads TaxProf Blog was so moved by a law professor’s plea for a kidney for his daughter that she offered to become a living donor. The student, who wants to remain anonymous, is pursuing an LL.M. in tax law, TaxProf Blog reports. She responded after…

Jul 12, 2011 1:02 PM CDT

ABA Committee Considers Changes in Terms and Conditions of Law School Employment Policies

Should law schools be required to offer tenure or other forms of security of position to all full-time faculty members? That is the question at the heart of two alternative proposals now being considered by an ABA committee that is working on a comprehensive review of law school accreditation standards.…

Jul 11, 2011 11:34 PM CDT

Law Prof Responds After Chief Justice Roberts Disses Legal Scholarship

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has raised hackles with his suggestion that there is a disconnect between the scholarship of law professors and the work of practitioners. Roberts knocked law professors and their work while answering questions at the 4th Circuit Judicial Conference in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.,…

Jul 7, 2011 10:29 AM CDT

Prof: Some May Balk at Their Tone, But ‘Scambloggers’ Put National Spotlight on Problems in Legal Ed

“Scambloggers,” a term used to describe people whose writing focuses on the allegedly misleading way that law schools market themselves to potential law students, plays an important part in the profession’s evolution, according to a recent article in the Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology. Lucille Jewel, an associate…

Jun 30, 2011 7:50 PM CDT