Law Students

Law Grad Turns to Cupcake Truck as Economy Sputters

Studying at New York Law School helped prepare Lev Ekster for his next career, albeit not the one he was expecting. During his many study breaks at a downtown bakery, it occurred to Ekster to wonder “Why can’t a cupcake come to me?” From that moment of inspiration, a post-law…

May 22, 2009 7:03 PM CDT

Mountain-Climbing Wall Street Refugee Is 1L in 2-Year JD Program

Northwestern University law school sees a connection between 1L Armand Musey’s mountain-climbing exploits and its first group of students entering its new two-year J.D. program. Musey, who worked on Wall Street for 10 years in telecom and finance, climbed Mount Everest last May, joining the few people who have climbed…

May 20, 2009 4:06 PM CDT

Harvard Crimson Editors Consider Law School

The job market for journalism grads, it seems, is even tougher than that for new lawyers. The Harvard Crimson has produced 12 Pulitzer Prize winners, but this year those working for the student newspaper are considering other careers—including legal ones, Bloomberg reports. Only three out of 16 graduating seniors who…

May 19, 2009 1:59 PM CDT

Shorter Summer Associate Programs Ramp Up the Pressure

Summer will be a time of increased pressure for law students hired on as summer associates at the many law firms that are reducing the lengths of their programs. Matt DeGrushe, dean of career services at the University of Southern California’s law school, told the National Law Journal that students…

May 18, 2009 2:10 PM CDT

Some 2010 Summer Associate Programs Are Being Axed or Scaled Back

The summer of 2010 is likely to be a tough one for law students hoping for a summer associate position. Some law firms are considering further rollbacks in their summer associate programs, and at least one is canceling its 2010 program, in most if not all of its offices, the…

May 13, 2009 1:40 PM CDT

Syracuse Limits Bathroom Breaks Due to Exam Cheating Concerns

Updated: Taking a bathroom break during an exam is harder than it used to be at Syracuse University College of Law. Due to cheating concerns, the New York law school has limited first-year students to one visit to the restroom per exam, among other measures being taken to combat the…

May 12, 2009 5:11 PM CDT

Website Uses Student E-Mail Spam to Rank Top Party Law Schools

The Website SubtleDig has named Arizona State University College of Law the top party school, mainly based on a mass e-mail sent to law students. The e-mail asked law students about their general happiness, how often they went out, their drug and alcohol consumption, and their dating success, SubtleDig explains.…

May 12, 2009 3:07 PM CDT

Law Schools Hail Drinker Biddle Plan to Pay Less, Train More

There is no substitute for on-the-job training, and Drinker Biddle & Reath’s plan to pay new associates less and train them more is “a courageous step,” according to one law school administrator, Elaine Petrossian, assistant dean of the Office of Career Strategy and Advancement at Villanova University School of Law,…

May 12, 2009 1:51 PM CDT

Law Firm Model Shifts from Pyramid to Diamond or Possibly a Pear

The classic law firm staffing model is a pyramid shape, with lots of associates on the bottom and fewer partners on top. But the recession has upended the model, so that it now appears to be more of a diamond, the Legal Intelligencer reports. The change could permanently alter life…

May 12, 2009 1:22 PM CDT

Justice Scalia Tells Law Student Why She Probably Won’t Be His Law Clerk

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was his usual blunt self last month when he responded to a law student’s question on how to become “outrageously successful” despite a lack of connections and elite degrees. At first, Scalia gave the American University law student some general advice, the New York…

May 12, 2009 12:20 PM CDT

Hogan & Hartson Offers $75K Paid Vacation to Incoming Associates

New information about at least one law firm that is further pushing back the start date for incoming first-year associates isn’t yet included in a lengthy list published today by Above the Law. Hogan & Hartson is offering an unknown number of new associates the opportunity to start in December…

May 8, 2009 10:05 PM CDT

Dozens of BigLaw Firms Make Law Blog’s Start-Date Deferral List

Only last year, graduating third-year law students with jobs lined up at BigLaw firms could routinely expect to start work in the fall. But the dismal economy has changed that for a startling number. Dozens of major firms have made a detailed list published this afternoon by Above the Law…

May 8, 2009 8:00 PM CDT

Derivatives Regulation Becomes a Popular Law School Offering

The financial meltdown has spurred interest in derivatives classes among law students interested in learning about the origins of the crisis and hoping to tap into an expanding job market for lawyers well-versed in financial regulations. New York Law School has seen so much interest in its derivatives course that…

May 8, 2009 3:18 PM CDT

Federalist Society Founders Win $250K Bradley Prize

Four now-prominent attorneys who founded the Federalist Society in 1982 while they were still in law school are being awarded a $250,000 Bradley Prize. The Bradley Foundation’s president, Michael Grebe, says in a written statement that the founders are being honored for “their ingenuity in forming and nurturing an organization…

May 6, 2009 7:38 PM CDT

Stanford Law School Is No. 1 in Blogger’s ‘Success Rankings’

Stanford Law School has the best success rate for its graduates, according to a ranking developed by a blogger using law school statistics from U.S. News & World Report. TaxProf Blog used data for law graduates employed nine months after graduation, students employed at graduation, and graduates passing the bar,…

May 6, 2009 12:25 PM CDT