Law Students

Student Loan Relief on the Way For Law Grads

A new federal program meant to help all students manage their loan debt is set to go into effect July 1. Why should lawyers care? Because the College Cost Reduction & Access Act has a few provisions that can have long-term benefits for lawyers, especially those who are public-interest-law minded.…

Jun 23, 2009 11:59 AM CDT

Lippe: What’s Wrong With Legal Ed & How to Fix It

In its current state, legal education is growing increasingly distant from the profession and is more like a scholarly pursuit. So says Legal OnRamp founder Paul Lippe in his most recent column published in the Am Law Daily blog. From Lippe’s perspective, there are a number of things wrong with…

Jun 22, 2009 6:24 PM CDT

Expect Fewer Offers & Later Offers, Says Georgetown in Glum Career Forecast

In a stark contrast with what was considered normal in former years, elite law students working at well-known law firms this summer can’t expect that offers of permanent employment will be routinely extended to the entire summer associate class. Offers to summer associates could be down significantly and are expected…

Jun 22, 2009 6:08 PM CDT

Upping ACLU Internship Pay Ante, UVA Law Student Wins $650K in Poker Event

In between his work on civil liberties memos, a summer intern in the Nevada offices of the American Civil Liberties Union borrowed a few grand from a poker-playing buddy and entered a tournament. The result was a World Series of Poker bracelet and a gambling payday of over $650,000 this…

Jun 19, 2009 10:32 PM CDT

Harvard Changes Financial Aid Work Rule Due to Law Firm Summer Program Cuts

Traditionally, students receiving financial aid from Harvard Law School are expected to help themselves by working 10 weeks over the summer. But due to slashed summer programs at many major law firms this year, a substantial number of Harvard students found out only at the last minute that they wouldn’t…

Jun 17, 2009 9:02 PM CDT

Undeterred By UPL Sentences, 2 Men Allegedly Go Back into ‘Practice’

Updated: Convicted in 2005 of perjury and fraud for misrepresenting himself as a licensed California attorney, Harold Goldstein was released from federal prison about a month ago. But a Craiglist ad almost immediately put him in hot water again. In it, Goldstein allegedly solicited the services of law students, reports…

Jun 15, 2009 6:26 PM CDT

Document Your Inspiration for a $10K Law School Scholarship

Law students still have just over a month to create a video and attempt to win $10,000 toward law school tuition. Entrants’ videos—which must be uploaded onto this YouTube page by July 15 and be no more than 4 minutes long—must address what inspired them to want to become a…

Jun 10, 2009 4:40 PM CDT

Free Podcast, Other Resources Offer Job-Hunting Help to Laid-Off Lawyers

Sometimes, lawyers and staff laid off from their jobs at major law firms are provided outplacement help including career counseling by their soon-to-be former employers. But for those who aren’t, a growing library of Internet career offerings for legal professionals makes similar resources available for free. Among the latest additions…

Jun 8, 2009 1:05 PM CDT

Anita Hill Talks About Sotomayor and Her Own Clarence Thomas Testimony

Seventeen years after she became a household name by testifying about alleged sexual harassment by then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill says she believes Obama administration nominee Sonia Sotomayor is a great choice because of her intellect, breadth of experience and respect for the rule of law. Hill,…

Jun 5, 2009 6:00 PM CDT

Stanford Law Prof Is One of Esquire’s Best-Dressed Real Men [See Photo Gallery]

Professors aren’t known for their stylish dress. Stanford University law professor Richard Thompson Ford acknowledges the stereotype, and says he probably strikes his colleagues as something of an oddity. Ford, an expert on civil rights and anti-discrimination law, is one of 25 semifinalists in Esquire magazine’s “Best Dressed Real Man”…

Jun 4, 2009 5:55 PM CDT

Would-Be Public Interest Lawyers See Deferred Associates as Competitors

Some would-be public interest lawyers are worried that deferred associates are taking positions that could have been theirs. Some large law firms are paying new associates stipends ranging from $60,000 to $85,000 to spend a year working for public interest organizations—a pay cut for a new associate but more than…

Jun 2, 2009 3:13 PM CDT

Sotomayor Was Mature, Well-Liked, Listened to Others, Yale Classmates Say

Despite some recent media accounts that depict U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as sharp-tongued, that isn’t how the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge struck many of her fellow Yale Law School students when they were on campus together in the Class of 1979. Contacted by the Yale…

Jun 1, 2009 6:41 PM CDT

Law Dean’s E-Mail Shows Distaste for Clout-Heavy Admissions Decisions

An e-mail dispatched by the former law dean at the University of Illinois is less than enthusiastic about a state senator’s recommendation for the admission of one applicant. “She won’t hurt us terribly, but she certainly won’t help us,” Dean Heidi Hurd wrote in reference to the applicant, in an…

Jun 1, 2009 1:48 PM CDT

Debt-Free J.D. Degree from NYU is Funded By Texas Law Firm

Thanks to a Texas law firm, two new graduates of New York University School of Law getting ready to start public interest jobs don’t have to worry about dealing with a crushing educational debt load. The 45-attorney Bickel & Brewer litigation boutique in Dallas paid for Thomas Fritzsche and classmate…

May 29, 2009 8:17 PM CDT

What New Lawyers Need to Know: Business Emphasis Not a ‘Torture System’

Law graduates need a better understanding of law firm economics, better writing skills. more practical experience and more management training, according to a survey of practice chairs, hiring partners and recruiters. Every single survey respondent said law schools should offer workshops or seminars in “Business 101,” survey authors Katy Montgomery…

May 28, 2009 1:45 PM CDT