Students Rally Around Law Prof Struggling With ALS

Florida State law professor Steven Gey told his students last month that he can no longer teach because Lou Gehrig’s disease is sapping his ability to speak, eat and even breathe. His students are praying for him, even though Gey is an ACLU lawyer who defends separation of church and…

May 14, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

Prof Promotes Latin American Legal Rights With CDs, Fashion Shows

An assistant dean at California Western law school in San Diego is trying to improve Latin American legal systems with innovative and offbeat projects. James Cooper says he worked for 15 months at Baker & McKenzie before he tired of “making the world safe for McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Levis,” he…

May 8, 2008 4:08 PM CDT

Law Prof Finds Flaw That Could Invalidate Thousands of Patent Decisions

Law professor John Duffy of George Washington University figured he was missing something when he discovered a flaw in the appointment process for judges who decide patent disputes. The Constitution’s appointments clause requires “inferior officers” of government to be appointed only by the president, the courts or “heads of departments”…

May 6, 2008 11:22 AM CDT

Arkansas Law Dean Wants to be Known as Lawyer of Faith

The woman who became the first African-American dean of the University of Arkansas law school is an expert in labor and employment law. But Cynthia Nance draws on her Lutheran background as well as her legal education. Nance is committed to public service and wants to be known as a…

May 1, 2008 4:01 PM CDT

The J.D.-Hendrix Experience

Russell Pearce has two photos on his office wall. One is Louis Brandeis. The other, Jimi Hendrix.

May 1, 2008 1:04 PM CDT

Law Prof Sues Students, Says They Defamed Him by Calling Him a Racist

A constitutional law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has filed a defamation suit against two students that says they wrongly accused him of being a racist. The suit by Richard Peltz says he took part in a legitimate debate on affirmative action at the invitation of…

May 1, 2008 10:47 AM CDT

And the Best Faculty Photos Award Goes to ….

The Legal Profession Blog, in a passing reference, says Southwestern University School of Law has the best faculty photos. A photo posted by the blog proves its point. It shows a full-length photo of a casually dressed but happy looking professor, James Fischer. He sports faded blue jeans and a…

Apr 30, 2008 2:40 PM CDT

Jerry Springer Is Commencement Speaker at Northwestern Law

Jerry Springer, a 1968 grad of Northwestern law school, is this year’s commencement speaker. The choice is sparking controversy. Many students have signed petitions and circulated e-mails protesting the television host’s appearance, but he remains a speaker, the Chicago Tribune reports. However, their objections spurred the school’s graduation committee and…

Apr 28, 2008 3:20 PM CDT

Md. Law Prof Turns Class Into Think Tank

So far lawmakers and law enforcers haven’t had much luck improving conditions in crime-plagued Baltimore. So University of Maryland Law Professor Orde F. Kittrie has put the challenge to his class. He’s asked the 13 students enrolled in “Crime in Maryland: Problems and Proposed Solutions” to spend the semester acting…

Apr 24, 2008 4:21 PM CDT

Ariz. Justice Project Expands, Moves to Law School

The Arizona Justice Project, which for the last 10 years has worked on a shoestring to exonerate the wrongfully convicted, is getting a makeover and a new home thanks to a $150,000 grant from the state bar’s foundation. With the grant money, the Justice Project will move from the firm…

Apr 23, 2008 5:55 PM CDT

Berkeley Dean Supports ‘Torture Memo’ Author

The dean of the University of California-Berkeley law school says he doesn’t agree with the legal analysis of the author of one of the so-called torture memos, but that doesn’t mean he should be fired from his post as a law professor. Dean Christopher Edley Jr. stated his views in…

Apr 15, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

‘Epidemic’ Leads to UofC Law Web Ban

The University of Chicago Law School has shut down Internet access for most of its classrooms because too many students were surfing the Web instead of taking notes on their laptops. U of C law Dean Saul Levmore told students and faculty in an e-mail that he took action after…

Apr 11, 2008 6:28 PM CDT

Legal Writing Instructor Among Pulitzer Winners

A Harvard University law grad who teaches legal writing and literature at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York is among the Pulitzer Prize winners announced this week. John Matteson won for a biography, Eden’s Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father, the Associated Press…

Apr 10, 2008 2:41 PM CDT

Letters from Law Deans, Real and Imagined, Tout Schools’ Strengths Despite Rankings Drop

A law school professor has penned a parody of letters from law deans defending their schools’ rankings by U.S. News & World Report. Gregory Stein, a law professor at the University of Tennessee, saw the letters circulating on the legal blogs and parodied them in two tongue-in-cheek letters to be…

Apr 7, 2008 12:15 PM CDT

U.S. News Rankings Czar Extends Olive Branch

Tropical Storm Allison blasted through Houston killing 22 people, flattening homes and drenching the University of Houston Law Center in mud and floods. That was 2001, closing out Nancy Rapo­port’s first year as law school dean.

“Our computers survived only because our IT director risked his life to move classroom PCs to higher floors through the night of the storm,” Rapoport says.

The faculty and staff—some of whom lost their own homes—removed debris from buildings, scrounged supplies and aided students displaced by the storm. Despite the stress, Rapoport was exhilarated by the camaraderie. She never shed one tear of frustration…

Mar 29, 2008 3:01 PM CDT