Law Schools

Yale isn’t No. 1 in alternate law school rankings

Yale Law School is No. 1 in the rankings released in March by U.S. News & World Report, but the school lost its top spot in alternate rankings by Above the Law. The ATL rankings put a priority on employment outcomes, though law school costs and alumni ratings are also…

Jun 1, 2017 10:57 AM CDT

ABA Legal Ed Section exploring a reorganization that would save time and money

An idea to combine three bodies in the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has been put into a report and shared with the group's council, which is meeting Friday in Portland, Oregon.

Jun 1, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

1Ls are in the driver’s seat as law schools look to poach talent

Faced with dwindling admissions, some law schools seek out overachieving 1Ls. Although the number of student transfers has been decreasing, law schools are interested in taking transfer students to bring in more revenue, according to higher-education consultants. It’s become a seller’s market for first-year students at the top of their class: They easily can move to a higher-ranked school or stay put and get bigger tuition discounts.

Jun 1, 2017 1:00 AM CDT

Northwestern considering GRE scores as an alternative to the LSAT

Although the issue of law schools accepting the Graduate Record Examination as an admissions test is still being considered by the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law is the latest to consider those scores over the traditional Law School Admissions…

May 30, 2017 3:57 PM CDT

Arizona Summit ordered to post $1.5M bond to repay students if the school closes

Arizona Summit School of Law, part of the for-profit InfiLaw System, must post a $1.5 million bond, which would reimburse students if the school closes. “It’s just to protect the public, just in case,” Keith Blanchard, deputy director of the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education, told the Arizona…

May 26, 2017 1:38 PM CDT

Columbia law prof’s age bias complaint is without basis, university contends in motion to dismiss

Columbia University is seeking dismissal of an age bias suit filed by a 78-year-old law professor who contends the school is pressuring him to retire by making it more difficult to meet a teaching quota. This week, the university filed a motion to dismiss the March lawsuit by law professor…

May 26, 2017 10:34 AM CDT

As class sizes shrank, the number of ABA-accredited law schools remained mostly flat

For nearly 40 years starting in 1971, law schools had an average first-year class size of 246 students, peaking to 262 in 2010. Since then, that average has dropped 31 percent to an average of 182 students. Despite the sharp decrease, Indiana University Maurer School of Law professor Bill Henderson…

May 25, 2017 10:56 AM CDT

Some Charlotte School of Law students receive federal loan money

The U.S. Department of Education has released the second disbursement of direct loan funds to Charlotte School of Law.

The money was released May 5, a Department of Education spokesperson told the ABA Journal on Monday.

May 22, 2017 5:38 PM CDT

Erwin Chemerinsky named to lead Berkeley Law

Erwin Chemerinsky has been selected as dean for the University of California Berkeley School of Law. Chemerinsky, the founding dean of University of California Irvine School of Law, is scheduled to start the new position July 1, according to a press release. The constitutional law scholar previously served as a…

May 17, 2017 1:05 PM CDT

Drake University announces law school scholarship program with three HBCUs

In an effort to increase diversity, graduates of three Historically Black Colleges and Universities will receive scholarships covering at least half of tuition upon admission to Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa. The HBCUs participating in the program are Lincoln University of Jefferson City, Missouri; Kentucky State University…

May 16, 2017 9:47 AM CDT

Vermont Law receives $17 million loan from US Department of Agriculture

Corrected: Vermont Law School has received a $17 million loan from the United States Department of Agriculture. The loan will be used to restructure debt and further develop an online education program and year-round classes that offer greater flexibility for students, the Valley News reports. The loan, which comes from…

May 10, 2017 9:59 AM CDT

Law prof’s suit says she suffered PTSD because her school failed to stop harassment by student

A former visiting law professor at Appalachian School of Law claims in a lawsuit that she was harassed by a law student, and the school’s probe of his conduct was “completely, and inexcusably, mismanaged.” The suit by Hillary Lynne Burgess, filed last week in federal court, says the school violated…

May 9, 2017 9:57 AM CDT

Cincinnati law dean settles suit against university and resigns, reportedly with full salary

Jennifer Bard, the dean of University of Cincinnati College of Law who was placed on administrative level after faculty members discussed a vote of no confidence, has settled her lawsuit with the school and resigned as its dean, according to a press release (PDF) issued by Bard lawyers Krantz &…

May 8, 2017 1:34 PM CDT

Where is Tiffany Trump going to law school?

Tiffany Trump has been spotted touring law schools at Harvard, New York University and Columbia, but she will be attending a different law school this fall. Tiffany Trump will attend Georgetown Law School in Washington, D.C., the Daily Mail reports in a story noted by the Washington Examiner, the Hill,…

May 8, 2017 1:02 PM CDT

Purdue acquires online-only Concord Law School

Purdue University recently acquired the for-profit Kaplan University, and with that comes Concord School of Law. The Indiana university will be the first public institution with an online law school. Concord Law School is one of a handful of online law schools, Law.com reports. For now, the law school’s day-to-day…

May 4, 2017 4:30 PM CDT