Law Schools

Board approves commission on legal education’s future

The ABA Board of Governors has approved a proposal submitted by President-elect Hilarie Bass to create a Commission on the Future of Legal Education.

Apr 1, 2017 12:30 AM CDT

Law deans were unaware of judge’s largesse in wrongful foreclosure case

Some law deans were surprised to learn that a federal bankruptcy judge had decided to give their schools $4 million each in punitive damages awarded in a California couple’s wrongful foreclosure case against Bank of America. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein of Sacramento awarded $1 million in actual damages and…

Mar 30, 2017 10:46 AM CDT

Graduate of two law schools who never attended college may take the bar exam, court rules

Caleb Alexander Harlin never attended college, but he has two law degrees and one law license. He now will have the opportunity to obtain a law license in a second state as a result of a ruling on Tuesday by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The decision overturns the Oklahoma Board…

Mar 30, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

ABA puts Arizona Summit School of Law on probation

Corrected: Arizona Summit School of Law, which is part of the for-profit InfiLaw System, received notification Monday that it has been put on probation by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. It follows a November 2016 ABA decision that put Charlotte School of Law, another InfiLaw school, on probation.

Mar 27, 2017 3:24 PM CDT

Law school debt—and private school tuition revenue—may be declining

When inflation is calculated in, 115 law schools have seen students’ debt loads decline between 2013 and 2016, according to Derek T. Muller, who blogs at Excess of Democracy. The Pepperdine University School of Law professor’s numbers are based on U.S. News & World Report debt rankings and a 3…

Mar 27, 2017 12:41 PM CDT

Can for-profit InfiLaw schools be had on the cheap, and would they be worth it?

Sterling Partners may be unloading all three of its for-profit InfiLaw System schools, say some consultants after the announcement that Charlotte School of Law, which is currently on probation for being out of compliance with ABA accreditation standards, plans to affiliate with a nonprofit college in the Northeast. Scott Broyles,…

Mar 23, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

After firing by Trump, ex-US Attorney Bharara joins NYU Law as scholar in residence

Preet Bharara, the Southern District of New York U.S. attorney who was fired this month by President Donald Trump, after refusing to step down, has taken a position with New York University School of Law. Bharara, who was one of 46 U.S. attorneys dismissed by the Trump administration, oversaw many…

Mar 21, 2017 12:10 PM CDT

Chatbot to help victims of military sex trauma wins Tech for Justice hackathon event

The traditional Saturday morning plenary session of ABA Techshow served as a wrap-up of activities that took place during the preceding three days, and underscored the main themes of the conference.

Mar 18, 2017 4:09 PM CDT

Did you take note of the US News rankings when deciding on a law school?

This week, U.S. News & World Report’s annual law school rankings were released. As always, this year’s results were eagerly anticipated. They’re also continually criticized. Law.com notes the critique by sociologists Wendy Nelson Espeland and Michael Sauder in Engines of Anxiety that rankings penalize lower-tier schools and nontraditional students. On…

Mar 15, 2017 12:22 PM CDT

Northwestern enters top 10 in latest US News law school rankings; Harvard drops to No. 3

Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law has entered the top 10 in law school rankings released on Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

Mar 14, 2017 8:56 AM CDT

Arizona Summit law school to affiliate with historically black college

Corrected: The for-profit Arizona Summit School of Law, which is part of the InfiLaw consortium, announced Friday that it will sign an affiliation agreement with Bethune-Cookman University, a historically black college in Florida. The law school campus will remain in Arizona, according to a press release. Summit has an existing…

Mar 10, 2017 8:48 AM CST

Penn law school gets $2.2 million from Koch family foundation

The Charles Koch Foundation has donated $2.2 million to the University of Pennsylvania Law School. The money reportedly will help fund a center focused on fairness in criminal justice.

Mar 10, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Harvard Law will accept GRE as entrance exam

Harvard Law School will accept the Graduate Record Examination in lieu of the Law School Admissions Test, starting this fall. The change is part of a strategy to expand law school access domestically and internationally.

Mar 9, 2017 8:35 AM CST

Popular blogger and scholar tapped as Pepperdine law dean; he plans to keep blogging

Paul L. Caron, a professor at Pepperdine School of Law, has been selected as its new dean. The tax law scholar also blogs at TaxProf Blog, and owns and publishes the Law Professor Blogs Network. Besides tax matters, the Tax Prof Blog also has many posts on various challenges in…

Mar 7, 2017 9:39 AM CST

Free LSAT prep courses to be offered by Khan Academy: Could state bar exam help come later?

Khan Academy, a nonprofit online platform known for its large library of interactive math courses, today announced it will offer free LSAT practice materials, working with the Law School Admissions Council. Many LSAT prep courses now are offered by for-profit groups for a fee. “We’re always looking for ways to…

Feb 28, 2017 5:15 PM CST