Law Professors

Law School Dean Recommends Gift Cards

A recent issue of Consumer Reports magazine advises shoppers to be wary this holiday season of buying gift cards that may involve hidden fees or may never be used. But in fact it appears that the so-called “deadweight loss” associated with gift cards may be lower than for many other…

Nov 14, 2007 12:33 AM CST

Billionaire UC Irvine Donor Had Dean Consulting Rights

Billionaire Donald Bren was promised the right to consult on the selection of a dean for UC Irvine’s new law school in exchange for his $20 million donation. Bren also specified how big the “Donald Bren School of Law” signs should be displayed (they must be at least twice the…

Nov 12, 2007 1:26 PM CST

Harvard Law Prof to Be Tapped for Vatican Post

Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon is expected to be nominated to become U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. Glendon, who opposes abortion and gay marriage, was co-chair of a committee on the Constitution and courts for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the Associated Press reports. “She will serve our country…

Nov 6, 2007 1:08 PM CST

Profs Kibosh Students’ Laptops

More law schools are banning them as a distraction—or worse

Nov 1, 2007 8:44 PM CDT

Prof Who Played Pimp Film to Resume Teaching

A law professor who went on leave after he showed a controversial film clip to students from the documentary Really Really Pimpin’ in Da South will return to teaching this spring at the University of Connecticut law school. Robert Birmingham will teach three classes, including law and philosophy, but he…

Oct 23, 2007 11:58 AM CDT

Casebook Caper (Don’t Try This at Home ... )

Apparently fed up with real estate finance, an Indiana law student has been arrested for allegedly shooting his casebook. Jesse Sneed, 27, a third-year student at Indiana University School of Law, was charged with criminal recklessness after the incident last week, writes the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. He has…

Oct 22, 2007 9:16 PM CDT

Dress Code for ‘Scruffy’ Law Profs

Is the standard of faculty attire so dire at law schools today that a dress code should be imposed? At least one law professor says yes. In an upcoming law review article, Erik Jensen of Case Western Reserve University calls for a dress code for his academic colleagues, in order…

Oct 19, 2007 6:24 PM CDT

Ave Maria Profs File Whistle-Blower Suit

Three suspended professors at Ave Maria School of Law have filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the Catholic institution, its president and dean, and the chairman of its board of governors, among other defendants. It alleges wrongful discharge, breach of contract and tortious interference with advantageous business relationships. Stephen Safranek, Edward…

Oct 19, 2007 3:35 AM CDT

Prosecutors Recommend Law Prof as Pit Bull Guardian

Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to appoint a law professor to serve as a guardian for 48 pit bulls seized from property owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. Prosecutors say Rebecca Huss, a professor at Valparaiso University law school, should have the authority to find interim shelter for…

Oct 16, 2007 2:30 PM CDT

Beloved U of Chicago Law Prof Dies

David Currie, a longtime law professor at the University of Chicago known both for his constitutional law scholarship and his gifts as an inspiring teacher, has died. He was in his early 70s. Currie had been ill and suddenly took a turn for the worse, Dean Saul Levmore said today…

Oct 15, 2007 11:17 PM CDT

Law Prof on Leave After Playing Pimp Film

A professor at the University of Connecticut law school has agreed to take a leave of absence after showing a clip from the documentary Really Really Pimpin’ in Da South that included some R-rated images. Some students reportedly walked out of class because they were upset over the film and…

Oct 15, 2007 2:29 PM CDT

Profs Need Humility, Students Flexibility

Learning to think like a lawyer has benefits. But it can also close law students’ minds to alternative ways of thinking about the world, according to a new study by a linguistic anthropologist. Conducted by Elizabeth Mertz, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin and a senior research fellow…

Oct 9, 2007 4:58 PM CDT

Brain Secrets Study Could Change Courts

A $10 million multidisciplinary brain secrets study launched today could eventually bring big changes to the nation’s courtrooms. With the help of 25 participating universities, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is bringing “lawyers, judges, philosophers, legal scholars and scientists together to address how to use in the…

Oct 9, 2007 4:18 PM CDT

Yale Prof Explains Why Recruiter Suit Dropped

Yale law school professors who don’t want to see military recruiters at the school have decided the fight is not worth $350 million. Law professor Robert Burt, the lead plaintiff, said his group of 45 faculty members decided not to pursue the case after an appeals court ruled against them…

Oct 1, 2007 3:51 PM CDT

New Turmoil at Ave Maria

In the latest turmoil at Ave Maria School of Law, the alumni board of directors of the Michigan institution has issued a vote of no confidence in the school’s top leaders. It called—for the second time—for the ouster of the dean and board chairman of the Catholic law school, reports…

Oct 1, 2007 3:35 PM CDT