Afternoon Briefs: Ex-law dean Norman Lefstein dies; inmate who got life for stealing $50 is released

Former law dean Norman Lefstein dies at age 82 Norman Lefstein, a former dean of Indiana University’s McKinney School of Law, died Thursday at age 82. Lefstein has been described as one of the giants in the legal profession and the architect of the modern indigent defense reform movement. He…

Aug 30, 2019 2:32 PM CDT

Justice Ginsburg makes first public appearances after treatment for pancreatic cancer

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made her first public appearances Monday since her recent treatment for pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg, 86, was escorted across the stage in her appearances in Buffalo, New York, the Washington Post reports. But “she spoke with a clear, strong voice” at both events. CNN…

Aug 27, 2019 12:24 PM CDT

In about-face, several ABA employees are told they qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The U.S. Department of Education has declined to appeal a February decision that found the department acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it changed terms of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and excluded some lawyers from participation.

Aug 27, 2019 10:06 AM CDT

Atticus Finch is attending University of Texas law school

A 1L at the University of Texas School of Law has an appropriate legal name. The 1L is Atticus Finch, and it’s a name that he chose himself, the Texas Lawyer reports. Finch was named Angus Finch until his lawyer parents allowed him to legally change his name to Atticus…

Aug 26, 2019 2:49 PM CDT

ABA legal ed section set to send various standards and rules revisions to House of Delegates

Aug 26, 2019 2:05 PM CDT

Did you do a clinic in law school? Was it a valuable experience?

In the latest Legal Rebels podcast, the ABA Journal talked to Rodney Smolla, who brought a greater emphasis on experiential learning to both Washington and Lee School of Law and Widener University Delaware Law School, where he is now dean. The program Smolla started at Washington and Lee in 2009—optional…

Aug 21, 2019 11:43 AM CDT

How experiential learning in law schools became widely accepted

When Rodney Smolla was featured as a Legal Rebel in 2009, he was in the midst of leading an innovative plan at Washington and Lee University School of Law, which involved eliminating traditional third-year coursework and replacing it with experiential learning.

Aug 14, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Judge tosses suit over Harvard Law Review’s alleged racial and sexual preferences, allows do-over complaint

A federal judge in Boston has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Harvard Law Review violates federal law by using racial and gender preferences when selecting its student members.

Aug 9, 2019 10:02 AM CDT

Search for new managing director of ABA legal ed section underway; Barry Currier: ‘It has been a privilege’

Barry Currier, managing director of accreditation and legal education for the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, will be stepping down next summer, he announced in Syllabus, the section’s quarterly e-newsletter. Currier has had the position since 2013, and before that he was the section’s interim…

Aug 7, 2019 3:29 PM CDT

Conservative student says law school biases infringe on his right to free speech

As a third-year law student, I have the concerns that any other 3L has: getting my reading assignments done before class starts, completing internship work, passing the bar exam and finding gainful employment. In addition, when I don my “Make America Great Again” hat, I add the concerns of ostracization…

Aug 7, 2019 2:11 PM CDT

More people are applying to law school, but it’s not like last year’s ‘Trump bump’

People applying to law school saw a modest 3.3% increase for the 2019-20 admission cycle, according to the Law School Admission Council. The data is as of July 31 and includes 62,427 applicants, Kellye Y. Testy, president and CEO of the LSAC, wrote in an Aug. 5 web post for…

Aug 7, 2019 12:04 PM CDT

What essay questions do you remember from the bar exam?

When test-takers took the California bar exam earlier this week, some say they might have had a leg up. An email from State Bar of California days before the test listed the essay question topics to be covered on the bar exam. The state bar had just mistakenly sent the…

Aug 1, 2019 11:45 AM CDT

2 bright spots in law-grad hiring: more BigLaw jobs, higher rate of JD-required employment

The job picture improved for law school graduates in the class of 2018, with increases in both the overall rate of employment and the percentage of graduates who secured full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar passage, according to the National Association for Law Placement.

Jul 31, 2019 10:06 AM CDT

Thanks to email error, those taking California bar exam now know essay question topics

When California bar exam test-takers received an email July 27, listing the topics to be covered on the upcoming state bar exam, many of them thought it was a hoax. It turns out that email, which was sent by the State Bar of California, was legitimate.

Jul 30, 2019 11:32 AM CDT

First-year lawyer offers self-care tips and shares how he learned to quiet his mind post-law school

In this episode of Asked and Answered with the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward, Michael R. Anspach talks about his road to success after law school, his self-care tips and how he learned to quiet his mind.

Jul 29, 2019 6:30 AM CDT