Law Schools

Will UC Bolt from Boalt Hall Name?

The University of California at Berkeley School of Law is having an identity crisis. The firm is known in California as Boalt Hall School of Law, but the name can cause confusion outside the state. So the school has hired a consulting firm to poll students, faculty, alums and others…

Oct 9, 2007 12:37 PM CDT

In Tight Market, Law Grads Seek Work in OK

A tight legal market for law students who aren’t graduating from the nation’s most elite law schools or at the top of their class is apparently prompting many to seek work in Oklahoma. Some may also think—correctly—that law firm jobs there offer good long-term opportunities for training and growth, as…

Oct 4, 2007 4:32 PM CDT

Fewer Women Apply to Law School

Law schools are seeing fewer women applicants and a dropping proportion of women students. The percentage of women in law school has dropped from 49 percent in 2002 to 46.9 percent today, the National Law Journal reports, citing ABA figures. The drop comes as both sexes are applying to law…

Oct 2, 2007 12:51 PM CDT

Yale Prof Explains Why Recruiter Suit Dropped

Yale law school professors who don’t want to see military recruiters at the school have decided the fight is not worth $350 million. Law professor Robert Burt, the lead plaintiff, said his group of 45 faculty members decided not to pursue the case after an appeals court ruled against them…

Oct 1, 2007 3:51 PM CDT

New Turmoil at Ave Maria

In the latest turmoil at Ave Maria School of Law, the alumni board of directors of the Michigan institution has issued a vote of no confidence in the school’s top leaders. It called—for the second time—for the ouster of the dean and board chairman of the Catholic law school, reports…

Oct 1, 2007 3:35 PM CDT

St. John’s Law Students Part of Lockdown

A three-hour lockdown at St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y., yesterday extended to law students after a man walked onto campus wearing a Halloween mask and toting a rifle in his backpack. Security officers tackled the man, identified as 22-year-old Omesh Hiraman, ABC’s 7online reports. Hiraman’s father said his son…

Sep 27, 2007 12:47 PM CDT

Lynne Stewart Appearance Roils Law School

Hofstra law school’s decision to invite a disbarred lawyer to participate in a legal ethics conference on defending unpopular clients is raising some hackles. The controversy centers on the invitation extended to Lynne Stewart, who has been convicted of providing material aid to terrorists for helping an imprisoned sheik communicate…

Sep 26, 2007 5:09 PM CDT

Law Grad Tuition Debt Relief Ahead

Law grads struggling to pay big school debts while working in low-wage or public service job can take heart. President Bush is expected to sign a bill that gives grads in public service jobs a chance to have their student loans forgiven and some others to opt for a low-repayment…

Sep 25, 2007 12:42 PM CDT

Law School Secret: Bad Job Market

The job market is tough for many recent law grads, who are pointing their fingers at law schools for failing to warn them about their dim prospects. Top pay for new associates at the big law firms is $160,000, but most beginning lawyers make far less at the same time…

Sep 24, 2007 11:04 AM CDT

Chancellor: I Bungled Chemerinsky Hire

The man responsible for the on-again, off-again hiring of a prominent constitutional scholar to serve as dean of a new law school being created at the University of California at Irvine admits his handling of the matter left much to be desired. “This is certainly something that I bungled, and…

Sep 21, 2007 12:14 AM CDT

NYU Law’s Dworkin Wins $750,000+

A renowned law and philosophy professor at New York University has been awarded a prestigious prize for his scholarship. Its value is variously given as $750,000 or $800,000. Ronald Dworkin, 76, who has a joint appointment at Oxford University in Britain, has won the Holberg International Memorial Prize for his…

Sep 20, 2007 8:34 PM CDT

Law Prof: CA Bar Swayed by Liberals

A UCLA law professor seeking more information about bar passage rates for minority law students is planning his next move after the State Bar of California turned down his request for historical data. The Committee of Bar Examiners refused to release the information, saying test takers provided it in the…

Sep 19, 2007 12:31 PM CDT

Stanford Class for Laity: Think Like Lawyer

An all-star faculty lineup at Stanford Law School is offering an ambitious and perhaps unprecedented course for nonattorneys. In a single quarter, 12 professors will attempt to teach graduate students in other disciplines to think like a lawyer, reports the Stanford Daily. The whirlwind tour of the legal profession is…

Sep 18, 2007 5:24 PM CDT

Yale Profs Lose Military Recruiter Appeal

A federal appeals court has ruled that the federal government may deny funding to Yale Law School for barring military recruiters from campus. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the Solomon Amendment, which bars certain federal funding to schools that reject…

Sep 18, 2007 12:38 PM CDT

Chemerinsky to be Rehired as Irvine Dean

In a remarkable about-face, Erwin Chemerinsky is to be rehired as dean of the new law school being created at the University of California at Irvine. For the second time in less than a week, university Chancellor Michael Drake traveled to Durham, N.C., over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times…

Sep 17, 2007 6:14 PM CDT