Law Professors

Dean: Despite Discord, Ave Maria’s Fla. Move Went Well

Despite some dire predictions and discord over the relocation of Ave Maria School of Law’s campus from Michigan to Florida, it has turned out well, the acting dean says. After moving over the summer, the school greeted 210 first-year students this fall, up from 126 last year, acting dean Eugene…

Jan 4, 2010 7:22 PM CST

Law Prof Writes ‘Explosive’ New Book on Whitewater, Lewinsky Probes

Duquesne University law professor Ken Gormley has written a new book about the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky investigations that alleges near-indictments, prosecutorial mishaps and another affair by former President Bill Clinton. The “explosive” book says prosecutors considered indicting Hillary Clinton and her former law partner Webster Lee Hubbell, allegedly for…

Dec 21, 2009 4:36 PM CST

New Exam Issue Tests NYU Law School: How to Grade, When Some Saw Questions Earlier?

In at least the second such snafu reported this month concerning a law school exam, New York University administrators are now pondering how to handle a situation in which some of the students in a law school class, through no fault of their own, saw the questions in advance. Earlier,…

Dec 19, 2009 12:41 AM CST

Younger Well-Dressed Law Prof Notes Clothing Generation Gap

Fashion observers are noting something of a clothing generation gap between baby boomer men given to wearing sloppy dressed-down duds and the younger generation of men who are embracing cutting-edge fashion. Among the observers is Samuel Rascoff, a 36-year-old law professor at New York University who sports a tie and…

Dec 17, 2009 7:29 PM CST

Washington & Lee’s New Curriculum Will Go On Without Innovative Dean

As news broke of Dean Rodney Smolla’s imminent departure from Washington & Lee University School of Law to become the president of Furman University, concerned law students worried about the fate of the school’s 3L curriculum reform, which launched this fall. The program eliminates traditional coursework and focuses on the…

Dec 16, 2009 6:31 PM CST

Oops. Accidental Posting of Exam a ‘Teachable Moment,’ Law Prof Says

Updated: An accidental posting of a law school exam on a University of Oregon School of Law e-mail discussion list last week offered students an opportunity to apply legal ethics rules in real life, their professor says. The advance distribution of Professor John Bonine’s administrative law exam tested the moral…

Dec 15, 2009 12:51 AM CST

Suspension Likely for Lawyer Who Made Improper Remarks to Female Clients

Seven years working on Wall Street in the banking industry gave David Witherspoon the impression that bad behavior was tolerated, his lawyer says. But now the “totally remorseful” New Jersey lawyer understands the seriousness of attorney ethics rules and is ready to accept a three-month suspension recommended by the state…

Dec 8, 2009 7:45 PM CST

Georgetown Law Dean Snags U.N. Post

The dean of Georgetown University Law Center let students and faculty know that he’s leaving in January to take a post with the United Nations. T. Alexander Aleinikoff, who’s been dean since 2004, sent an e-mail announcing the news that he’d accepted the position of deputy high commissioner in the…

Dec 2, 2009 9:59 PM CST

Illinois Law Prof Launches Give Blog, Plans to Donate Up to $50K

University of Illinois law professor Suja Thomas has launched a blog with her husband to motivate themselves and others to give away more money to charity. The blog is called The Give Blog: Conscious Living and Giving, according to TaxProf Blog. Thomas and her husband, Scott Bahr, write in their…

Nov 24, 2009 6:19 PM CST

NU Law Dean Adjusts ‘Super Lawyers’ Rankings to Reflect Law School Size

A new ranking of law schools by the Super Lawyers magazine admittedly didn’t take into account the number of graduates. And class size does matter, according to Northwestern University School of Law Dean David Van Zandt. So he has reconfigured the rankings, which are based on the number of Super…

Nov 19, 2009 9:25 PM CST

Law Prof Proposes African Boarding School for Troubled Indiana Kids

An Indiana University law professor is proposing an unusual way to help troubled kids: Send them to boarding school in Africa. Law professor Kevin Brown is leading a group of Indiana professors backing a school in the West African nation of Ghana, according to the Associated Press and the Indianapolis…

Nov 17, 2009 3:47 PM CST

Is Law School a Good Investment? No, Law Prof Says, for Many ‘Typical’ Students

Does the cost of going to law school pay off for graduates? The answer to that question is no, for many “typical” students, according to a law professor at Vanderbilt University. In a research paper recapped by the Tax Prof Blog, professor Herwig Schlunk calculates the cost of tuition versus…

Nov 13, 2009 9:58 PM CST

When Applying to Law School, Avoid These Five Essay Mistakes

Applying to law school? If you think you’ve got a great famous quote to begin your personal statement, think again. It’s one of the top five mistakes you can make, according to a prelaw adviser. Famous quotes and trite phrases should be avoided, according to Tatem Oldham, prelaw adviser for…

Nov 12, 2009 12:33 PM CST

Madam Protests Planned Lecture By Ex-AG Spitzer at Harvard Ethics Center

A madam who supplied former New York governor and attorney general Eliot Spitzer with high-priced escorts is more than a bit aggravated about his planned public lecture tomorrow at a Harvard University ethics center, reports the New York Daily News. “I am greatly intrigued as to what Mr. Spitzer could…

Nov 11, 2009 10:51 PM CST

Raids of Faculty Coffee Spur Harvard Law to End Cutbacks of Free Brew

Earlier this year, Harvard Law School cut back on one its cherished perks: free coffee for students. The school had announced that free coffee would end at 10:15 a.m., rather than noon, and it would be served at fewer locations. Never mind. The school has reversed course, and is now…

Nov 11, 2009 12:41 PM CST