Law Schools

Naming Rights Don’t Sell for $20M, So Ave Maria Scraps New Building Plan

Plans for a posh new building in for Ave Maria School of Law have reportedly been scrapped after administrators apparently failed to sell naming rights for $20 million as they had hoped. Instead, the Catholic law school will move to an existing building in Naples, Fla., when it relocates from…

Apr 28, 2008 6:51 PM CDT

Jerry Springer Is Commencement Speaker at Northwestern Law

Jerry Springer, a 1968 grad of Northwestern law school, is this year’s commencement speaker. The choice is sparking controversy. Many students have signed petitions and circulated e-mails protesting the television host’s appearance, but he remains a speaker, the Chicago Tribune reports. However, their objections spurred the school’s graduation committee and…

Apr 28, 2008 3:20 PM CDT

Former ‘60s Radical, Now a N.Y. Judge, Still a Magnet for Trouble

Notorious as a law student in the late 1960s for his role in Columbia University campus protests, Gustin Reichbach is now a New York Supreme Court judge. But his long-ago days as a long-hair in bell-bottom pants didn’t seem so far away recently, when the judge returned to Columbia at…

Apr 25, 2008 10:58 PM CDT

Boalt Beefs Up Calif. Bar Prep After 2007 Pass Rate Dips to 82 Percent

Rattled by a pass rate on the California bar exam among its graduates in July 2007 that dipped to 82 percent, one of the state’s most prestigious law schools is focusing on better preparing its students to succeed on the ticket-punching test. In particular, graduates’ ability to pass the bar…

Apr 25, 2008 4:44 PM CDT

1L Attrition Topped 30 Percent at Six Law Schools

Six law schools had first-year attrition rates above 30 percent for the 2005 academic year. First on the list is Whittier, with a first-year attrition rate of 51.5 percent, TaxProf Blog reports, citing a list published at LawSchoolNumbers.com. The percentages include students who flunked out, dropped out voluntarily or transferred.…

Apr 25, 2008 12:41 PM CDT

Md. Law Prof Turns Class Into Think Tank

So far lawmakers and law enforcers haven’t had much luck improving conditions in crime-plagued Baltimore. So University of Maryland Law Professor Orde F. Kittrie has put the challenge to his class. He’s asked the 13 students enrolled in “Crime in Maryland: Problems and Proposed Solutions” to spend the semester acting…

Apr 24, 2008 4:21 PM CDT

Ariz. Justice Project Expands, Moves to Law School

The Arizona Justice Project, which for the last 10 years has worked on a shoestring to exonerate the wrongfully convicted, is getting a makeover and a new home thanks to a $150,000 grant from the state bar’s foundation. With the grant money, the Justice Project will move from the firm…

Apr 23, 2008 5:55 PM CDT

Help for Home Buyers Likely, But Student Loan Forgiveness Could Cost More

As mortgage foreclosures rise to new record highs, there is good news on the legislative front for new homeowners: Congress is working on bills that could enhance existing tax breaks. But developing tax law could be bad news for law graduates in government and nonprofit jobs who are now benefiting…

Apr 23, 2008 3:22 PM CDT

N.Y. Dean Complains of ‘Glut’ of Law Schools

New York boasts 150,000 lawyers. Yet, some public officials and lawmakers would like to see more law schools in the state. Not Makau Mutua, the interim dean of the State University of New York’s only law school. He tells Newsday, “There’s no question that we simply have a glut of…

Apr 23, 2008 10:35 AM CDT

LSU May Create Much-Desired Clinical Education Program

Encouraged by the American Bar Association to do so, officials of a Louisiana law school are trying to establish a clinical education program there. The ABA is urging Louisiana State University Law Center to create a legal clinic that would offer students a chance to get some hands-on experience before…

Apr 22, 2008 5:49 PM CDT

A Tuition Secret: In Law School, It Pays to Be Above Average

If you want to save money on law school tuition, your best bet may be to gain admission to a school where your LSAT and GPA scores are above its median. Admissions officers have increasingly redeployed student aid in an effort to attract students with better credentials who will boost…

Apr 16, 2008 11:10 AM CDT

Berkeley Dean Supports ‘Torture Memo’ Author

The dean of the University of California-Berkeley law school says he doesn’t agree with the legal analysis of the author of one of the so-called torture memos, but that doesn’t mean he should be fired from his post as a law professor. Dean Christopher Edley Jr. stated his views in…

Apr 15, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

Columbia Sends Highest Percentage of Grads to Top Law Firms

Columbia Law School is first on a list of schools that send the highest percentage of graduates to the top 250 law firms. Columbia sent almost 75 percent of its 2007 grads to the top 250 law firms, followed by Northwestern, which sent about 73.5 percent of its grads to…

Apr 14, 2008 12:27 PM CDT

‘Epidemic’ Leads to UofC Law Web Ban

The University of Chicago Law School has shut down Internet access for most of its classrooms because too many students were surfing the Web instead of taking notes on their laptops. U of C law Dean Saul Levmore told students and faculty in an e-mail that he took action after…

Apr 11, 2008 6:28 PM CDT

Hour-Long Chat with Bob Morse

Bob Morse, director of data research at U.S. News & World Report, fielded a flurry of questions Friday about his publication’s law school rankings. The live portion has ended, but you can replay the chat and add comments below.

Apr 11, 2008 3:59 PM CDT