Law Students

Summer Associates Take Trapeze Lessons, Attend Football Training Camp

Summer associates got a taste of law firm life this summer. They also took trapeze lessons, sang karaoke and went rock climbing. As usual, the big law firms appear to be trying to outdo each other in the quest for unusual and sometimes lavish activities. Portfolio.com listed some of the…

Aug 25, 2008 12:08 PM CDT

Mickey Mouse Mistake May Invalidate Early Disney Copyright

Lawyers for the Walt Disney Co. empire don’t even want to hear that anybody is making the argument. But an early version of Mickey Mouse, who starred in the first synchronized sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, may not be properly copyrighted. A copyright card at the beginning of the cartoon—commonly used…

Aug 22, 2008 3:46 PM CDT

First-Year Law Student is also a Porn Star

Porn star Anita Cannibal is a 1L at the West Los Angeles School of Law. Cannibal goes by the name Traci Bryant in real life, Legal Blog Watch reports, citing the Bitter Lawyer blog. She is attending law school to fight for better health and safety for adult film performers.…

Aug 22, 2008 3:02 PM CDT

Anticipated Revenues Drop for Law Firms and a Job-Hunting Law Grad

Veronique Tousignant knows firsthand about the tight job market. A 2007 graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law, she has sent out 200 résumés. But her only legal work is as a law clerk for Chicago firm Kameli & Associates. Tousignant hit the job market as the subprime meltdown was affecting…

Aug 18, 2008 1:59 PM CDT

Bankruptcy a ‘Hot and Sexy’ Field for Weil Gotshal’s Associates

Bankruptcy is a “hot and sexy” practice area right now, and summer associates at premier bankruptcy law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges feel the attraction. Seventy percent of the firm’s summer associates chose a bankruptcy-group rotation this year, compared to just 55 percent last year, New York magazine reports. The…

Aug 18, 2008 12:20 PM CDT

Arnstein & Lehr is Latest to Drop Summer Assoc. Program

Difficulty estimating hiring needs down the road is the reason Arnstein & Lehr is giving for axing its summer associate program for next year. “For a firm our size, the crystal ball just isn’t good enough to tell us,” firm chairman Raymond Werner tells the National Law Journal. Chicago-based Arnstein…

Aug 12, 2008 3:08 PM CDT

Olympic Silver Medalist to Begin Law School at Michigan

Sada Jacobson took home a silver medal at the Olympics in the individual sabre event, but her next stop isn’t likely to be Disney World. The Yale University graduate is heading to the University of Michigan Law School, the Hartford Courant reports. Jacobson said she believes her strength is concentration,…

Aug 11, 2008 1:33 PM CDT

Pre-Law Program Aims to Be National Model

Illinois’ Bradley University announced this week that it is opening a pre-law center to improve law school prospects for undergrads who aspire to join the legal profession. The university intends to hire a full-time director in September, preferably a lawyer looking for a career change, and have the center fully…

Aug 7, 2008 1:11 PM CDT

Law School Defers Tuition for Students Who Can’t Get Loans

Charlotte School of Law is a for-profit institution. But the school says it will defer fall tuition and fees for about 35 students who can’t get loans because of the turmoil in the nation’s economy. It will have a total of about 300 students when its third class starts this…

Aug 6, 2008 11:02 PM CDT

Kaplan Offers ‘Full-Service Bar Review’ in Three States

A company that provides bar review courses for the multistate exam will offer state-specific bar review courses in three states. Kaplan PMBR announced it will offer “full-service bar review” courses in New York, New Jersey and Florida, according to a press release. The Florida program will be available for the…

Aug 6, 2008 6:01 PM CDT

Barnes & Thornburg Eliminates Chicago Office Summer Program

Barnes & Thornburg is eliminating its summer associate program in Chicago, at least for next year, because it’s now so easy to hire first-year associates. The 450-lawyer Indianapolis-based law firm “typically has about two to three summer associates in the Chicago office,” offering successful tryoutsfirst-year associate jobd starting the fall…

Aug 6, 2008 5:13 PM CDT

CasemakerX: New Social Network for Law Students

A new social network for law students has been announced by Lawriter, a subsidiary of Collexis Holdings Inc. The free CasemakerX site will be launched this fall, as the new law school year is beginning, the company reports in a Business Wire press release. It is supported by the Casemaker…

Aug 6, 2008 3:36 PM CDT

Congress OKs Bill Forgiving Up to $60K in Loans for Prosecutors, PDs

Congress passed legislation last week that forgives up to $10,000 a year in student loans for state and local prosecutors and public defenders who pledge to stay on the job at least three years. The law would forgive a maximum of $60,000 in school loans for a six-year stint, report…

Aug 5, 2008 2:51 PM CDT

Law Librarian’s Beef: High-Tech Law Students Do ‘Wal-Mart’-Style Research

The law library director for Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law says law students today are more impatient and less likely to take the time to find complete answers to legal questions. DeCarlous Spearman talked about her observations in an interview with the Houston Chronicle. “Students now want…

Aug 4, 2008 6:03 PM CDT

Disaster’s Disciples

About a week after Rob Verchick began teaching his fall 2005 environmental law course at Loyola University New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina hit.

Aug 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT