Law Professors

Legal ed task force urged to address faculty salaries, federal role and core competencies

The Task Force on the Future of Legal Education got an earful of reaction Saturday to the findings of the working paper (PDF) it issued earlier this month. Much of the response was favorable. But all eight of the people who spoke at the task force’s last scheduled public hearing…

Aug 11, 2013 1:11 AM CDT

Legal Ed council tackles faculty tenure and distance learning as part of accreditation review

The governing council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has tentatively approved three more chapters of proposed amendments to the law-school accreditation standards. The council, which met Friday during the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, voted to post the proposed changes to chapters…

Aug 10, 2013 2:07 AM CDT

Legal ed section to take on proposed changes to law school accreditation standards

The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is facing the future of legal education head-on at this week’s ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. On Friday, the governing council of the Legal Education Section, the ABA’s law school accrediting arm, will consider a package of proposed…

Aug 7, 2013 2:24 PM CDT

Are Baby Boomers to blame for the lousy lawyer job market?

The median age of lawyers has jumped from 39 in 1980 to 49 in 2005, suggesting that the bad job market for new lawyers may be attributable to demographic factors rather than permanent changes in the job market, a law professor says. Writing at Witnesseth: Law, Deals & Data, Pepperdine…

Aug 5, 2013 1:42 PM CDT

Law school financing system in need of ‘serious re-engineering,’ task force says

The current system for financing a law school education, which drives up tuition costs and student debt, is “deeply flawed” and in need of a “serious re-engineering,” an ABA task force says. And the law school accreditation standards, which impose more standardization of legal education than may be necessary, should…

Aug 1, 2013 8:20 PM CDT

Law prof plans to release survey of 401(k) fees via Twitter

A Yale law professor has written to about 6,000 employers warning them that he is studying corporate 401(k) plans and is planning to release the results via Twitter. The study focuses on the financial impact of investment and administrative fees in investment plans, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), Forbes…

Jul 29, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Is a law degree really worth $1M? Law prof says value overstated; study author defends stats

The critics came out swinging after two professors published a study finding that a law grad will make, on average, $1 million more in a lifetime than a college grad. After ABAJournal.com published this story on the findings, commenters suggested the study was “totally bogus” and “total bunk.” In a…

Jul 24, 2013 4:03 PM CDT

Prof offers alternative to traditional law school loans: Structure a swap transaction

American University tax law professor Benjamin Leff is suggesting another way to finance a law school education—through an “income-based rate swap.” Leff’s plan would give law schools an incentive to find good jobs for their students, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.) reports. The idea: Students would still…

Jul 23, 2013 11:14 AM CDT

Law schools cope with declining enrollment by quietly cutting faculty

Faced with smaller enrollments, many law schools are quietly cutting faculty through buyouts, early retirement offers and canceled contracts with lower-level instructors. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) has an article on the trend, most prevalent among middle- and lower-tier schools that are hardest hit by dwindling interest in law…

Jul 16, 2013 12:02 PM CDT

Law prof asks: What’s wrong with performance-enhancing drugs for athletes?

Why ban performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports? Case Western Reserve law professor Max Mehlman says athletes have always tried to improve their performance. Fiberglass poles boosted pole vaulting records, for example, and no one thought it was a big deal, Mehlman tells the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “There is nothing fundamentally…

Jul 16, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

Keep job protections for law school faculty, ABA committee recommends

An ABA committee has voted to recommend that the law school accreditation standards be amended to require that law schools provide some form of security of position short of tenure to all full-time faculty members. But the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar’s standards review committee, which…

Jul 15, 2013 6:35 PM CDT

Fastcase announces 50 legal innovators to watch

With a record number of nominations, online legal research company Fastcase chose its latest class of 50 legal innovators and visionaries to honor in 2013. They include legal technologists and law professors, from start-ups to the establishment, who are inventing, adopting and advocating for new models of delivering legal services.…

Jul 15, 2013 5:12 PM CDT

Law prof files discrimination charge, alleges ‘stark inequality’ in pay for men and women

A law professor has filed a federal administrative complaint against the University of Denver, contending that she has been a victim of gender discrimination and is paid less than comparable male faculty. Lucy Marsh alleges in her Tuesday complaint that the university’s Sturm College of Law pays full professors who…

Jul 10, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

Which law schools were most likely to yank merit-based scholarships?

Updated: Back in May of 2011, several law students at Golden Gate law school used the word “bait and switch” to describe the school’s scholarship offers that are conditioned on maintaining B averages. The New York Times highlighted their plight in a story pointing out that many law schools lure…

Jul 8, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Clinical law profs solicit ABA legal ed council to require 15 credit hours in practice-based courses

The governing council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has been asked to amend the law school accreditation standards to require students to receive at least 15 credit hours of practical skills training. A petition (PDF) to that effect was formally submitted to the…

Jul 2, 2013 8:56 PM CDT