Law Schools

These law students combine technology with fee-generating cases

Some law students at Suffolk University are getting real-life experience on how to make money handling fee-shifting cases with the help of technology. Six law students, working under the supervision of seasoned lawyers, are participating in a so-called Accelerator Practice, an in-house law practice representing average income individuals in mostly…

Nov 6, 2015 10:02 AM CST

Are law student loans in danger of default? Not according to past history, law prof says

Contrary to a recent report, law students are a good credit risk for the federal government, according to a law professor who has valued a law degree at $1 million in a lifetime. Writing at Brian Leiter’s Law School Reports, Seton Hall University law professor Michael Simkovic says loans to…

Nov 4, 2015 5:45 AM CST

Mayer Brown associate prepares to make SCOTUS debut in politically charged redistricting case

Mayer Brown associate Michael Kimberly says he isn’t that nervous about making his debut oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court next week. After all, he’s been preparing for the moment ever since law school. “I was a student in the very first class of the Yale Law School Supreme…

Nov 2, 2015 1:35 PM CST

Doctors, lawyers and others are collaborating to ensure pregnant women get workplace accommodations

The majority of American pregnant women work, but some don't get requested accommodations, like extra bathroom breaks. And the reason may surprise you: Their medical teams don't know how to write requests properly.

Nov 1, 2015 3:40 AM CST

‘Free the Law’ project by Harvard’s law library is scanning books for free Internet case database

Harvard’s law library is removing the spines of most of its books and scanning the pages for a free Internet database of U.S. case law. Startup company Ravel Law is financing the law library’s “Free the Law” project with millions of dollars, the New York Times reports. Ravel Law hopes…

Oct 29, 2015 7:04 AM CDT

‘Grow’ your law school? The what, why and whether of Denver Law

While many law schools and law firms are successfully grappling with change, others are not. To better understand the what, why and whether of leading an institution forward, let’s look at Denver University’s Sturm College of Law as part of our series exploring Prudent Innovation. The What Denver Law is…

Oct 28, 2015 1:45 PM CDT

New York bar pass rates at their lowest point in at least 11 years

Bar pass rates in New York state have fallen to their lowest point in at least 11 years, new figures show. Only 70 percent of first-time test takers passed the July administration of the state bar exam, according to figures (PDF) released Tuesday by the New York State Board of…

Oct 27, 2015 2:35 PM CDT

This law school had a 30% bar pass rate; do lower standards presage troubled times for law grads?

Updated: The Arizona Summit Law School has posted a dismal bar passage rate despite its offer of $5,000 to poorly performing students who delay taking the bar exam. Only 30.6 percent of first-time test takers from the law school passed the July 2015 bar exam, report Above the Law and…

Oct 26, 2015 9:03 AM CDT

At top law schools, law profs with PhDs and little legal experience become more common

The nation’s top law schools are increasingly hiring professors with both JDs and PhDs, according to a new study. About 29 percent of the tenure-track faculties at the nation’s 26 top-ranked law schools hold JDs and PhDs, according to the research by University of California at Los Angeles law professor…

Oct 23, 2015 6:00 AM CDT

Northwestern University School of Law announces $100M gift and new name

What does $100 million get you these days? How about the naming rights to a major law school in the United States? Northwestern University School of Law announced Thursday that wealthy hotel scion and venture capitalist J.B. Pritzker and his wife, M.K. Pritzker, will donate $100 million to the school,…

Oct 22, 2015 2:47 PM CDT

Cooley law grad who wanted to be a lawyer since 14 is a prosecutor at 20

A Cooley law grad who wanted to be a lawyer since she was 14 years old managed to achieve her goal only six years later. Robyn Crawford is only 20 years old and an assistant state attorney in Florida’s Fifth Judicial Circuit, the Daily Business Review (sub. req.) reports. Crawford…

Oct 16, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

New project will hire and train lawyers to serve moderate-means New Yorkers

A start-up designed to train lawyers to provide needed legal services to people of modest means is taking applications from recent law grads who are licensed in New York. The new venture, called the Court Square Law Project, is the result of a partnership between 19 BigLaw firms, the CUNY…

Oct 15, 2015 8:59 AM CDT

Does law school’s ‘critical mass’ policy amount to segregation? Dean says it combats stereotypes

University of California at Berkeley’s law dean is explaining his school’s “critical mass” policy that left some of its first-year sections without any black students. Berkeley Law Dean Sujit Choudhry sent an email to the law school community explaining that the policy is intended to create a more positive experience…

Oct 13, 2015 9:32 AM CDT

Judge dismisses class action suit against Florida Coastal School of Law

A judge has dismissed a class action suit against a Florida law school whose alumni claimed they were misled about their job prospects after graduation. U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis of Jacksonville held that the plaintiffs did not have a case against Florida Coastal School of Law under the…

Oct 7, 2015 5:20 PM CDT

Northwestern to end accelerated JD program

Northwestern University School of Law is pulling the plug on its accelerated JD program. The decision was announced in a news release and email on Friday to the law school community from Dean Daniel B. Rodriguez, Above the Law reports. In the email, Rodriguez acknowledged that the program has not…

Oct 7, 2015 12:25 PM CDT