Law Schools

Now in compliance with admissions standard, Cooley Law drops suit against ABA

After suing the ABA's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar over a noncompliance letter made public, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School has dismissed the lawsuit, which alleged Higher Education Act and common law due process violations.

Nov 1, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

Valpo law school closing; teach-out plan in the works

The law school at Indiana’s Valparaiso University is closing, its board of directors announced Tuesday, following a scuttled plan to gift it to Middle Tennessee State University. Approximately 100 students, all of whom are in their second or third years, remain at the law school, which now plans to continue…

Oct 30, 2018 4:15 PM CDT

Arizona Summit submits another teach-out plan to ABA

Arizona Summit Law School will eventually close and has submitted a new teach-out plan to the ABA addressing the individual needs of its remaining 22 students. Peter Goplerud, Arizona Summit’s interim president, shared this information Thursday with the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education, the Arizona Republic reported. The…

Oct 26, 2018 12:38 PM CDT

Stanford Law gets $25 million for global program, which will include student travel

William A. Franke, an attorney and founding chairman of an aircraft finance group, has made a $25 million gift to Stanford Law School to fund its global law program, the university announced Monday.

Oct 23, 2018 2:25 PM CDT

Thomas Jefferson School of Law wins California accreditation

The State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners voted Friday to approve state accreditation for Thomas Jefferson School of Law, an ABA-accredited institution that has been on probation since November 2017. The vote was 8-7, with one committee member abstaining. California law requires that bar applicants graduate from a…

Oct 22, 2018 12:07 PM CDT

Yale Law clinic helps writers group file First Amendment suit against Trump

A group of writers and media professionals called PEN America has filed a lawsuit stating that President Donald Trump is violating the First Amendment by threatening and directing retaliation against media organizations and journalists. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in New York City, says journalists who report on…

Oct 18, 2018 11:02 AM CDT

Tennessee agency rejects proposal to move Valpo Law

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission has killed a proposed agreement to move Indiana-based Valparaiso University's law school to Middle Tennessee State University.

Oct 16, 2018 2:40 PM CDT

‘How to Get Away with Murder’ takes a somewhat realistic look at law school and legal employment

In How to Get Away with Murder, students vie to take a trial skills class with Annalise Keating, a successful criminal defense attorney. This is spot on: My favorite courses were taught by adjuncts who have actually practiced law.

Oct 15, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

Law school at University of Puerto Rico out of compliance with academic support standard

The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is out of compliance with an accreditation standard regarding academic support, according to an Oct. 10 letter posted online by American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. The standard, 309(b), requires accredited law schools to allow students…

Oct 12, 2018 3:45 PM CDT

ABA Legal Ed rejects Arizona Summit’s proposed teach-out plan

A teach-out plan for Infilaw’s Arizona Summit School of Law, by which its remaining students would finish course work for their degrees at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, has been rejected by the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.…

Oct 12, 2018 10:05 AM CDT

2 schools seek approval to move Valpo Law to Middle Tennessee

A proposed agreement in which the Indiana-based Valparaiso University would gift its law school infrastructure to Middle Tennessee State University, which would offer a reimbursement for interim expenses, has been reached by the governing boards at both institutions. The potential agreement must be approved by both the Tennessee Higher Education…

Oct 11, 2018 2:35 PM CDT

Lawsuits target law reviews at Harvard and NYU, saying they favor women and minorities

A Texas group filed two suits over the weekend alleging that two prominent law reviews violate federal laws by giving preferences to women and minorities when selecting some of their members and choosing articles for publication. The suits (here and here) target the Harvard Law Review and the New York University…

Oct 10, 2018 3:15 PM CDT

Study: Average price of a JD drops amid declining class sizes, costing $1.5B a year in lost tuition

Law schools have cut class sizes and offered tuition discounts that lowered the average inflation-adjusted cost of a law degree by 6 percent from 2010 to 2016, according to a new study. The result: ABA-accredited law schools are collectively losing an estimated $1.5 billion a year in tuition in current…

Oct 9, 2018 2:30 PM CDT

Oklahoma University College of Law associate dean resigns over sexist, homophobic writings

A law professor and associate dean for academic affairs at the Oklahoma University College of Law voluntarily resigned Tuesday after his discriminatory writings about women and same-sex marriage in a 2014 book came to light. The controversy stems from Brian McCall’s book titled To Build the City of God: Living…

Oct 3, 2018 2:45 PM CDT

LSAT to start transitioning to digital format in 2019

Starting in July 2019, the Law School Admissions Test will begin transitioning to a digital format. For the first test, some examinees will be assigned to take the test with a tablet device and others will use paper and pencil, according to a news release from the Law School Admission…

Oct 3, 2018 1:05 PM CDT