Law Students

Money Matters, But So Does the Work, New Law Grads Say

Money matters. But some new associates are prepared to make a bit less in exchange for a better lifestyle. “I’m not going to lie,” Sebastian Kurian, who starts this fall at Miles & Stockbridge, tells the Daily Record. “It definitely played a big role, but at the same time, Miles…

May 27, 2008 4:30 PM CDT

Single Mom at 14, Law Grad at 24

Rasheedah Phillips was a single mom at 14. She dropped out of school for six months, and her grades plummeted. But, unlike nearly 70 percent of the teens who become mothers within four years of starting high school, she went back, even as she worked part-time to support her daughter,…

May 22, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Jerry Springer’s Words of Wisdom Win Over Skeptical NU Grads

Students at Northwestern University School of Law protested when they heard that television reality show host and NU law grad Jerry Springer was to be their commencement speaker. But when they heard what he had to say last week, he got a standing ovation from about half of the audience,…

May 21, 2008 5:47 PM CDT

Father, Son Graduate Law School Together

Utah’s Tom and Ryan McLelland, father and son, are set to open up their own law practice. At first blush, it’s a common story: Son aspires to be a lawyer, just like dad, maybe attends father’s alma mater, graduates from law school and joins father to carry on the family…

May 16, 2008 10:59 AM CDT

‘Steep Mountain’ for FAMU to Climb to Full Accreditation, ABA Report Says

A fledgling law school at Florida A&M University reportedly is facing a tough accreditation battle, after a negative report by the American Bar Association earlier this year. But it’s a battle that can still be won, the law school’s new dean says. A seven-member ABA accreditation team that visited the…

May 14, 2008 8:33 PM CDT

Students Rally Around Law Prof Struggling With ALS

Florida State law professor Steven Gey told his students last month that he can no longer teach because Lou Gehrig’s disease is sapping his ability to speak, eat and even breathe. His students are praying for him, even though Gey is an ACLU lawyer who defends separation of church and…

May 14, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

Cadwalader Shrinks Summer Associate Program

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is hiring only 58 summer associates this year, down from 101 law students who participated in the program last year. With fewer summer associates, the firm can assign more “real work” and cultivate a better experience, says hiring committee chair Paul Mourning. Cadwalader recently laid off…

May 5, 2008 12:25 PM CDT

Yale 1L Bemoans ‘Almost-Darwinian’ Admissions Race and the Not-So-Nice Winners

A first-year law student at Yale takes on her Ivy League colleagues who don’t always practice what they preach about making the world a better place. In an opinion column published by the Washington Post, student Amelia Rawls writes that her sister, who just won acceptance at an Ivy League…

May 2, 2008 11:10 AM CDT

Ropes & Gray Partner Was Blackjack Winner Portrayed in ‘21’

A litigation partner at Ropes & Gray is admitting she was a member of the winning card-counting blackjack team that is portrayed in the movie 21. Jane Willis sees some connections between winning at blackjack and being a successful litigator, the Am Law Daily reports. Both endeavors “require perseverance, attention…

May 1, 2008 1:39 PM CDT

The J.D.-Hendrix Experience

Russell Pearce has two photos on his office wall. One is Louis Brandeis. The other, Jimi Hendrix.

May 1, 2008 1:04 PM CDT

Summer Shadows

One-to-one mentoring makes it easier to show summer associates the ropes

May 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

Law School Cancels ‘Sex Toys 101’ Seminar; Students Want Apology

A student group at the University of Wisconsin law school wants an apology for the abrupt cancellation of its “Sex Toys 101” seminar. Students for Reproductive Justice learned on the day of the planned event that associate dean Walter Dickey had called it off because student organizations are not allowed…

May 1, 2008 11:37 AM CDT

Law Prof Sues Students, Says They Defamed Him by Calling Him a Racist

A constitutional law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has filed a defamation suit against two students that says they wrongly accused him of being a racist. The suit by Richard Peltz says he took part in a legitimate debate on affirmative action at the invitation of…

May 1, 2008 10:47 AM CDT

Kosovo Trip Puts Chicago Law Student on War Crime Case Defense Team

For a Chicago law student, a summer project in Kosovo to help a professor research a book in 2005 became a career-changing experience. An accidental tourist in the world of Balkan war crimes, as the Chicago Tribune puts it, Andrew Strong found himself on the outskirts of Ramush Haradinaj’s coterie…

Apr 29, 2008 9:07 PM CDT

Jerry Springer Is Commencement Speaker at Northwestern Law

Jerry Springer, a 1968 grad of Northwestern law school, is this year’s commencement speaker. The choice is sparking controversy. Many students have signed petitions and circulated e-mails protesting the television host’s appearance, but he remains a speaker, the Chicago Tribune reports. However, their objections spurred the school’s graduation committee and…

Apr 28, 2008 3:20 PM CDT