Law Schools

Wayne State law dean runs Boston Marathon in just over 6 hours, while 8 months pregnant

It took Jocelyn Benson more than six hours to complete the Boston Marathon this year, more than double the time of the fastest female runners. But, unlike the Wayne State University law dean, they presumably weren’t eight months pregnant. Benson, 38, qualified for the Boston Marathon by completing the San…

Apr 22, 2016 4:37 PM CDT

Syracuse University online law program will try Socratic method

A part-time program where students complete the majority of courses online was recently announced by New York’s Syracuse University College of Law. William Banks, the law school’s interim dean, told the National Law Journal (reg. req.) that these courses will help the school’s recent enrollment decline. Banks told the NLJ…

Apr 21, 2016 10:50 AM CDT

Harvard law students should get a free education, activists say

Student activists at Harvard Law School are calling for the elimination of tuition “as a matter of justice.” The group Reclaim Harvard announced its position on its website, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. The group says the law school could find other ways to fund operations, including drawing…

Apr 20, 2016 6:52 AM CDT

ABA Section of Legal Ed considers complaint over BYU Law’s policy of expulsion of ex-Mormons

A complaint about Brigham Young University’s law school, which is accused of expelling students who leave the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and having an honor code that prohibits homosexual behavior, is being considered by a committee of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the…

Apr 19, 2016 3:45 PM CDT

Man rejected by just one of 11 law schools files age-bias suit

A 68-year-old man who applied to 11 law schools over the past few years has filed an age-bias suit against the single school that rejected him: the UConn School of Law. Geoffrey Akers’ lawsuit, filed last year, says he should have been accepted because of his above-average LSAT scores, his…

Apr 14, 2016 7:18 AM CDT

Two hidden recording devices are discovered at Harvard Law School

Harvard University police are investigating the discovery of two hidden recording devices at the law school. The group Reclaim Harvard Law says it found one device last week in a lounge its members have occupied since February, report the Harvard Crimson, the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe. The device…

Apr 13, 2016 8:03 AM CDT

Prosecutor drops charges against civil rights lawyer arrested during law school protest

A Minneapolis prosecutor has decided not to pursue an obstruction case against local civil rights attorney Jordan Kushner, who was arrested last year at a law school event at the University of Minnesota. City attorney Susan Segal said she exercised prosecutorial discretion in dropping a factually justified misdemeanor case, in…

Apr 12, 2016 10:35 AM CDT

Statistics suggest ‘reverse Robin Hood scheme’ by law schools, prof says

The percentage of black and Latino students entering law school last year was at a record high, but those groups may be subsidizing the cost of law school for their more privileged peers. Writing for the Chronicle of Higher Education, St. Louis University law professor Aaron Taylor says the statistics…

Apr 11, 2016 8:05 AM CDT

Suit claims law dean’s email was hacked

A suit filed last week says someone hacked the email of the dean of Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. The suit says the hacker obtained and circulated a confidential report about a “shouting match” last year between an associate and assistant dean, according to the Daily Report (sub. req.). The…

Apr 8, 2016 9:05 AM CDT

Don’t rename George Mason after ‘polarizing and controversial’ Justice Scalia, state lawmaker urges

A plan to rename George Mason University’s law school in honor of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has run into opposition. Calling Scalia a “polarizing and controversial” figure on the nation’s top court, a Virginia lawmaker is circulating a petition calling for the State Council of Higher…

Apr 5, 2016 3:40 PM CDT

This law school had more than 7,700 applications; which schools are in the top 10?

The 10 law schools with the most applications for their full-time JD programs had an average of 5,544 applications for fall 2015, compared to an average of 1,650 for all 195 law schools ranked by U.S. News & World Report. The law school that received the most full-time JD applications—Georgetown…

Apr 4, 2016 7:30 AM CDT

University of Michigan Law School produces most influential federal judges, analysis finds

The University of Michigan Law School has produced the most influential federal judges, according to a new analysis. The study by legal analytics firm Ravel Law looked at the number of opinions written by federal judges over the last 80 years and the number of times the opinions were cited,…

Apr 1, 2016 11:57 AM CDT

Schools add bar exam class to curriculum and find success

Bar exam passage rates have declined nationwide recently, but there are success stories even in this climate of sinking scores.

Apr 1, 2016 1:40 AM CDT

George Mason law school to take name of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

Officials at the George Mason School of Law have announced that the public law school is getting a new name, along with a record $30 million in gifts—a $20 million donation by an anonymous donor plus another $10 million from the Charles Koch Foundation. The foundation has given millions of…

Mar 31, 2016 4:20 PM CDT

Multistate Bar Exam average score falls to 33-year low

The mean scaled score on the February administration of the Multistate Bar Examination fell to 135, down 1.2 points from the previous year and the lowest average score on a February administration of the test since 1983. The number of test-takers was up 4 percent from last year, from 22,396…

Mar 31, 2016 2:53 PM CDT