Father and daughter who graduated law school together await bar results

Sarah Smith credits her father and an LSAT study guide for her interest in law school. Tim Smith was working with an LSAT study book in early 2014 when his daughter picked it up and started doing some of the problems. “I thought the questions were fun, and it piqued…

Mar 28, 2019 8:15 AM CDT

Is there an optimum age to go to law school?

The typical trajectory for a lawyer’s education is a high school diploma to an undergraduate degree to a JD. With this life plan, you can be a practicing attorney by your mid-20s—which is not uncommon. About half of all law school applicants from 2011 to 2015 were between 22 and…

Mar 20, 2019 2:09 PM CDT

This 16-year-old was accepted at nine law schools

Haley Taylor Schlitz loves learning and likes standardized tests. She is looking forward to classes this fall at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law.

Mar 18, 2019 8:15 AM CDT

Argosy receiver says he’s working on finding buyer for Western State College of Law

Mar 14, 2019 10:13 AM CDT

US News releases its 2020 law school rankings

There’s little variation in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 rankings among the top 20 law schools, and the top seven are identical to last year.

Mar 12, 2019 12:01 AM CDT

While one law school plans for closure, two others receive full ABA accreditation

A teach-out plan for Valparaiso University Law School, which calls for it being accredited until the end of August 2020, has been approved by the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

Mar 8, 2019 9:14 AM CST

Married couples from Harvard Law’s ‘love section’ offer lawyer relationship advice

Lawyers in love shouldn’t behave like lawyers, according to advice from one of six married couples from Harvard Law School’s class of 1979. All six couples met while first-year students in Harvard’s Section 3, which is similar to a homeroom period, the New York Times reports. The New York Times…

Mar 7, 2019 11:33 AM CST

Public service attorneys in loan-forgiveness suit still could face rejection, experts warn

In late February, a federal court reversed and remanded U.S. Department of Education determinations that three out of four lawyers—two of whom worked for the American Bar Association—did not qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Whether they will ultimately have their student loans discharged remains to be seen, say administrative law attorneys.

Mar 7, 2019 7:00 AM CST

Would-be law student gets record expunged with help of legal services group

A Kentucky woman who plans to attend law school hopes to someday help others expunge their criminal records because of her own experience. Kristen Hawthorne returned to Bloomington, Illinois, last month to pick up a judge’s order expunging her felony conviction, the Bloomington Pantagraph reports. Hawthorne had been convicted for…

Mar 4, 2019 9:30 AM CST

There’s a variety of affordable—or free—ways to teach legal tech, law school librarians say

Deborah Ginsberg doesn’t teach a specific legal technology class at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Instead, the educational technology law librarian goes to various classes and provides students with information relevant to legal practice areas taught in the course.

Mar 1, 2019 9:58 AM CST

ABA House of Delegates rejects changes to bar passage standard for law schools

Language in Resolution 105 called for at least 75 percent of a law school’s graduates to pass a bar exam within two years of graduation. Under ABA rules, the House can send a potential revision—in this case for Standard 316—back to the council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar twice for review with or without recommendations, but the council has the final decision on matters related to law school accreditation.

Mar 1, 2019 12:52 AM CST

Some law schools offer tech programs to help students find jobs, but does it work?

Recent law school graduates and attorneys with hiring responsibilities say that there are few tech jobs for new lawyers, largely because the profession isn’t ready for this new cadre of tech-savvy grads.

Mar 1, 2019 12:05 AM CST

Florida Coastal and ABA ask court to dismiss accreditation lawsuit

Florida Coastal School of Law, the last of three for-profit InfiLaw schools to remain open, has asked that the court dismiss, with prejudice, its lawsuit against the American Bar Association, with the parties agreeing to bear their own costs and fees.

Feb 27, 2019 10:00 AM CST

Student loan forgiveness: Great in theory, murky in practice

To afford law school, Kyle Ingram borrowed $120,000. Saddled with this significant loan balance at age 27, he sought debt forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

Feb 27, 2019 6:30 AM CST

ABA legal ed council delays decision on stricter bar-passage standards

The ABA’s legal education council has delayed a decision on whether to implement a stricter bar passage standard for accredited law schools, prolonging a yearslong debate of the hot-button issue.

Feb 22, 2019 7:54 PM CST