Lawyers ‘lean to the left,’ study says; which schools, firms and practice areas are most liberal?

Many conservative commentators have aired claims that trial lawyers appear more liberal than the rest of the population, and they overwhelmingly contribute to Democratic candidates. Is it true? And is the legal profession on the whole left-leaning? A study by professors from Harvard, Stanford and the University of Chicago Law…

Sep 2, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Harvard hackathon brings practicality to political causes

Sep 1, 2015 1:20 AM CDT

ABA task force urges law schools to give more info to help students assess costs of legal education

Sep 1, 2015 1:00 AM CDT

Law student kicked out of one school gets a second chance at another

A law student whose admission at one school was rescinded after the school claimed that he failed to fully explain the circumstances of a drug conviction is getting another chance from a different law school. David Powers, who once attended St. John’s University School of Law, will begin attending classes…

Aug 31, 2015 11:01 AM CDT

Georgia state bar to launch lawyer incubator program

The State Bar of Georgia has approved a new lawyer incubator program for recent law school graduates. The program, which is set to begin in January, will be open to recent graduates of Georgia’s five ABA-approved law schools who are interested in solo or small firm practice and committed to…

Aug 28, 2015 11:50 AM CDT

Alaska’s first law school is satellite Seattle U campus

A long-planned satellite campus of Seattle University School of Law is opening in Anchorage, Alaska, establishing the state’s first law school. Available to law students throughout the country, the one-year program is for third-year students. It is intended to help those who intend to practice in Alaska after they graduate…

Aug 24, 2015 6:30 AM CDT

Cooley law dean offers explanation for enrollment decline, sees possible turnaround

Enrollment at Western Michigan University’s Cooley Law School has dropped 52 percent from its peak in 2010, but things are looking up, according to its dean. Cooley had 1,880 students in the 2014-15 academic year, compared to more than 3,900 students in 2010, the Lansing State Journal reports. The drop…

Aug 19, 2015 7:14 AM CDT

Law grads say Texas A&M wouldn’t recognize them as alumni after purchase of their school

Thirty-two law graduates from Texas Wesleyan University have filed a lawsuit that claims Texas A&M University failed to accept them as A&M alumni after purchasing their school in 2013. The would-be class action says Texas Wesleyan is no longer easily located on lists of accredited schools because of the takeover…

Aug 14, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Judge is expected to block layoff of professor at Charleston School of Law

A judge in Charleston County, South Carolina, is expected to issue an injunction barring the Charleston School of Law from laying off a law professor who claimed she was fired for opposing the sale of the school to InfiLaw. Lawyers for law professor Nancy Zisk told the Wall Street Journal…

Aug 5, 2015 11:06 AM CDT

After some ado over class attendance, ABA House backs changes in law school accreditation standards

Corrected: The ABA House of Delegates concurred Tuesday with the action of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar’s governing council to make a dozen changes in the law school accreditation standards. Most of the changes were either technical corrections or clarifications of revisions made during the…

Aug 4, 2015 4:45 PM CDT

Law schools should refine debt counseling and cut education costs, says report adopted by ABA House

The ABA House of Delegates on Tuesday adopted the recommendations of the Task Force on the Financing of Legal Education in its passage of Resolution 110 (PDF). Task force chair and former ABA president Dennis Archer told the House that the report (PDF) offered a “five-part practical and constructive” solution…

Aug 4, 2015 1:30 PM CDT

Top 10 ways to manage your finances and navigate student debt

Everybody from Moses to David Letterman has had a top 10 list. But Edward N. Tucker, a CPA and founding partner at the Baltimore accounting firm Ellin & Tucker who also serves as secretary of the governing council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar,…

Aug 2, 2015 4:22 PM CDT

Legal ed council votes to keep ban on academic credit for paid externships

For the second time in little more than a year, the governing council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has rejected a proposal to lift the ban in the law school accreditation standards on students receiving academic credit for paid externships. But the council,…

Aug 1, 2015 10:28 PM CDT

Shrinking number of law graduates boosts employment rate for class of 2014

The employment rate for law graduates increased for the first time since 2007, thanks partly to a smaller number of law grads. The employment rate for the class of 2014 was 86.7 percent, up from 84.5 percent last year, according to a press release by the National Association for Law…

Jul 30, 2015 7:22 AM CDT

NYU Law School will research decline in civil jury trials with $2M gift

The New York University School of Law will conduct research on civil juries with $2 million in initial funding from trial lawyer Stephen Susman of the Susman Godfrey law firm. The new Civil Jury Project will also promote discussion about the decline in civil jury trials, the impact of the…

Jul 29, 2015 6:15 AM CDT