Law Schools

Bar passage standard revisions to go back to ABA House of Delegates

A proposal to tighten a law school accreditation standard regarding bar passage rates will be resubmitted to the House of Delegates at the 2019 ABA Midyear Meeting in Las Vegas. The proposed revision, which calls for a bar passage rate of at least 75 percent within two years, was approved…

Nov 6, 2018 4:15 PM CST

Teach-out plan approved for Arizona Summit with closure date set for end of spring 2020

A new teach-out plan from InfiLaw’s Arizona Summit Law School has been approved by the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. Notice of the approval was posted on the section’s website. The for-profit law school will continue with ABA accreditation through the spring…

Nov 6, 2018 3:10 PM CST

Northwestern University law school cuts positions despite nearly reaching $250M fundraising goal

The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law has nearly reached its fundraising goal of $250 million, but the extra cash isn’t insulating the school from a need to downsize. The law school revealed on an internal email discussion list in late September that the school is cutting staff and lecturer…

Nov 6, 2018 12:00 PM CST

This law school conducts meetings on a seven-seat conference bike

Why host meetings at a conference table when you can be riding a conference bike? That was the thought of J. Rich Leonard, the dean of Campbell University’s law school, who saw a conference bike at a moot court competition in Vienna and decided to bring the idea to his…

Nov 5, 2018 7:45 AM CST

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