Legal Education

Winner-take-all electoral college system is unconstitutional, say suits led by Boies

A coalition of prominent law firms and professors has filed four federal lawsuits claiming the winner-take-all system of electoral college voting distorts presidential campaigns and violates the U.S. Constitution.

Feb 22, 2018 10:38 AM CST

Only 23 percent of recent law grads strongly agree their education was worth the cost, study says

Recent law graduates are less likely than holders of other graduate degrees to believe their education was worth the cost and to feel prepared for life, according to a Gallup study. Only 23 percent of the law grads in the study strongly agreed that their advanced education was worth the…

Feb 22, 2018 10:15 AM CST

The ‘Trump bump’ for law school applicants is real and significant, survey says

According to a Kaplan Test Prep survey of more than 500 pre-law students, 32 percent indicated that the 2016 presidential election influenced their desire to become lawyers.

Feb 22, 2018 6:00 AM CST

NKU law dean who resigned after complaints from female staffers set to return in fall as a professor

Jeffrey Standen, the dean at Northern Kentucky University's Chase College of Law, announced his resignation in December after a school investigation that found he belittled and disrespected employees, particularly women.

Feb 21, 2018 1:42 PM CST

Federal officials consider changing hurdle for student borrowers hoping to erase debt in bankruptcy

The U.S. Department of Education will review whether there is a need to change the way “undue hardship” is evaluated in bankruptcy for student borrowers seeking to erase their loans. The announcement is an indication that the Trump administration is considering making it easier for students to discharge their loans,…

Feb 21, 2018 12:47 PM CST

ABA removes remedial actions requirements for Ave Maria School of Law

Finding that Ave Maria School of Law is now in compliance with an accreditation standard addressing admissions, the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has removed requirements of specific remedial actions.

Feb 15, 2018 4:40 PM CST

How to best help law students? Provide full-time, on-campus counselors, among other things

Law students have many things to be anxious about—getting called on in class can be terrifying, plus the process of applying for jobs and the rejection that frequently comes with it doesn’t help. Some law students worry that they may never find jobs as lawyers.

Feb 15, 2018 7:00 AM CST

‘Significant noncompliance’ could be added reason for public notice of law school problems

A proposal to add “significant noncompliance” to the list of when the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar may post public notice about a law school not meeting a standard—rather than keeping the matter confidential—is being considered by the group’s council, which met Feb. 9 in San Antonio.

Feb 13, 2018 8:30 AM CST

How Democrats could release their memo without Trump’s approval

President Donald Trump’s objections to the Democratic memo rebutting allegations of FBI surveillance abuse has some law professors spinning out scenarios in which the memo could be released without executive branch approval.

Feb 12, 2018 1:45 PM CST

Increases in law school applicant pool and those with high LSAT scores likely, professor says

It’s likely that the 2018 law school applicant pool will be the largest this year since the 2011-12 admissions cycle, and it appears that there will be a significant increase of applicants with LSAT scores of at least 165, Jerry Organ writes at TaxProf Blog.

Feb 12, 2018 1:45 PM CST

NIU Law to charge same tuition for residents and nonresidents

Starting this fall, out-of-state students at Northern Illinois University College of Law will pay the same for tuition and fees as in-state residents, according to the school’s website. Since the law school made the announcement in December, applications from out-of-state residents are up 49 percent, says Mark Cordes, the law…

Feb 12, 2018 12:02 PM CST

Does ideology influence editors’ law review picks? Study finds a correlation

Editors choosing law review articles are influenced by shared ideology with the authors, according to a working paper by three University of Chicago law professors.

Feb 12, 2018 8:00 AM CST

Privacy law specialty certification program narrowly approved after spirited debate in ABA House

A spirited debate preceded Monday’s vote by the ABA House of Delegates to allow the accreditation of a privacy law specialty certification program. The program was proposed by the International Association of Privacy Professionals from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Standing Committee on Specialization from the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility…

Feb 5, 2018 2:14 PM CST

Would an overhaul of federal student-loan programs help bring down law school tuition?

Could reforming the federal student-loan program be a way to halt the skyrocketing cost of attending law school? At the 2018 ABA Midyear Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, the American Bar Foundation gathered a panel together to discuss the issue in “The Perennial (and Stubborn) Challenge of Cost, Affordability and Access in Legal Education: Has it Finally Hit the Fan?”

Feb 4, 2018 12:32 PM CST

Project by LSAC, law schools association aims to boost understanding—and appeal—of law profession

The Law School Admission Council and the Association of American Law Schools are coming together on a project to improve how the public sees the prospects of a legal education and the legal profession. Consisting of “multiple web-based and social media initiatives” the two groups say in a press release,…

Feb 2, 2018 1:00 PM CST