Law Schools

ABA law school accreditation not necessarily needed to take Indiana bar exam, top state court decides

The Indiana Supreme Court has broadened the pool of would-be lawyers eligible to take the bar exam.

Feb 21, 2024 9:10 AM CST

Law prof who wrote about ‘the law school scam’ settles discrimination suit for $160K

A University of Colorado Law School professor who blogged at Inside the Law School Scam has settled his June 2023 lawsuit alleging pay discrimination and retaliation.

Feb 21, 2024 8:19 AM CST

Swift Justice: Students learn about the law through Taylor Swift cases

In at least two law schools, Taylor Swift is the subject of a class available to students wanting to gain practical knowledge about the law by studying her various legal entanglements and how she emerged stronger.

Feb 14, 2024 8:32 AM CST

Law prof presses male sex-bias allegations in new suit after federal judge tosses his Title IX claim

Updated: A professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law has filed a new lawsuit against the school stemming from a former associate dean’s alleged comments in 2016 that she didn’t want to see white men teaching anymore in the trial advocacy program that he headed.

Feb 7, 2024 10:42 AM CST

Free speech and academic freedom standards will now be part of ABA accreditation process

Law schools will now be asked to explicitly protect free speech rights for faculty, students and staff as part of the ABA accreditation process. Though law school faculty have long enjoyed protections for academic freedom, this would be the first accreditation standard to address free speech for the entire community within law schools.

Feb 5, 2024 11:55 AM CST

Is calling litigation ‘without merit’ actually without merit?

Scan corporate financial filings, and it doesn’t take long to notice that companies often dismiss legal actions brought against them as being “without merit” or “meritless.” But a federal court ruling suggests that reliance on such phrases can backfire when it comes to litigation disclosures.

Feb 2, 2024 10:06 AM CST

Law students and future doctors learn about the legal challenges they may face in special seminar

Legal and medical needs often intersect, but future physicians receive little legal training. Only a handful of medical programs offer practical legal training beyond the required theoretical ethics and jurisprudence classes. These programs include training on being deposed, learning how to be an expert witness before Congress and completing a monthlong rotation in a law clinic to work on health equity issues.

Feb 1, 2024 12:40 AM CST

Head of the Class: Law schools consider post-ChatGPT coursework

ChatGPT’s unveiling sparked conversations among law faculty, with opinions ranging from banning GPT platforms in certain classes to encouraging experimentation to reconsidering law school pedagogy.

Feb 1, 2024 12:05 AM CST

These Public Service Loan Forgiveness applicants have seen their student debt erased

Many public service attorneys had an overwhelming feeling that massive student loan debt would travel through life with them. But many of those attorneys got relief in the past year, thanks to recent changes to the federal government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

Feb 1, 2024 12:00 AM CST

Yale Law’s Owen Fiss talks about threats to democracy and ‘Why We Vote’

After 50 years as a professor at Yale Law School, Owen Fiss says his students are still idealistic and passionate about the rights won in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. A classroom discussion prompted his new book.

Jan 31, 2024 8:47 AM CST

Justice Sotomayor says she’s tired and working harder than ever, but she’s not giving up

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor told law students Monday that the Supreme Court is hearing bigger and more demanding cases while also dealing with a busy emergency calendar.

Jan 30, 2024 11:31 AM CST

Legal Ed council calls for comments regarding fully online law schools

Two proposals regarding the accreditation of fully online law schools were posted for comment by the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar this week.

Jan 25, 2024 2:25 PM CST

2020 Supreme Court decision offers ‘dangerous’ path for stealing election, legal scholars say

A 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision on faithless electors appears to allow state legislatures to pursue a “dangerous strategy” for overturning election results, according to an op-ed in the New York Times by two legal scholars.

Jan 24, 2024 10:13 AM CST

Facing undergraduate debt and law school loans, students wonder whether it’s worth it, new AccessLex study says

Almost half of all law school students have debt from their undergraduate education, more fund their legal education with loans and less than half say it was worth it, according to the AccessLex Institute’s Legal Education Data Deck.

Jan 23, 2024 8:06 AM CST

Half of law schools worry about creating diverse student body, new Kaplan study says

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision striking down affirmative action, half of law school admissions officers are “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about creating a diverse student body, according to a survey conducted by test prep company Kaplan released Monday.

Jan 22, 2024 9:40 AM CST