Legal Education

Which law schools have the best professors and classroom experience? New rankings released

Looking for the law school with the best classroom experience, the best career prospects or the best professors? A ranking released Tuesday lists the top schools in these categories and others. The Princeton Review’s 2018 annual ranking is based partly on surveys of students from the current and past two…

Oct 31, 2017 12:14 PM CDT

Online certificate program in legal innovation offered by Suffolk Law

Suffolk University Law School announced Monday that it is offering an online certificate program in legal innovation and technology that is open to both lawyers and nonlawyers. “The goal here is to help legal professionals rise to the top of their organizations when it comes to technology and innovation. We’re…

Oct 31, 2017 10:53 AM CDT

Florida Coastal, which has 47.7% bar pass rate, out of compliance with ABA accreditation standards

Florida Coastal School of Law is “significantly out of compliance” with various ABA accreditation standards involving program objectives, academic advising and admissions policy, the organization wrote in a letter to the school this month.

Oct 30, 2017 3:05 PM CDT

For-profit law schools set scene in John Grisham’s new novel

Third-year students at a for-profit law school who have accumulated huge amounts of student debt are the subjects of John Grisham’s latest legal thriller, The Rooster Bar. The attorney-author told CBS News that his plot was inspired by a 2014 story in the Atlantic titled “The Law-School Scam.” “I was…

Oct 26, 2017 4:15 PM CDT

Bar passage and admissions tests among topics to be revisited by ABA Legal Ed Council

A proposal to tighten up bar passage requirements for ABA-accredited schools, which the House of Delegates rejected in February, will be revisited in November by the council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. The current Standard 316 outlines a few ways that a law school…

Oct 26, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

New York State Bar exam sees slight pass rate increase for July 2017

The overall pass rate for the July 2017 New York State Bar exam was 68 percent, the New York State Board of Examiners announced Tuesday.

Oct 25, 2017 2:46 PM CDT

Georgia State University tops list of best-value schools

Georgia State University College of Law has claimed the No. 1 spot on a list of the nation’s best-value law schools. The National Jurist explains why the college is at the top of its list. The average student debt of Georgia State University law students is $64,384 and its employment…

Oct 24, 2017 5:00 PM CDT

Sen. Elizabeth Warren: I was sexually harassed as a young law professor

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she was sexually harassed by a senior faculty member when she was starting out as a law professor. The Democrat from Massachusetts told her story along with three other female senators on NBC’s Meet the Press, report the Boston Herald, the Boston Globe and the…

Oct 23, 2017 10:15 AM CDT

Pipeline program for underrepresented students to enter legal ed launched by ABA, IU McKinney Law

The American Bar Association on Monday announced the creation of an online pipeline program with an Indiana law school to help undergraduates develop key skills necessary for legal education, including critical thinking, test preparation strategies and reading comprehension. The “Pathway to the Law” program, funded with a $250,000 ABA grant…

Oct 23, 2017 9:45 AM CDT

Cut score for California state bar exam to stay at 1440—for now

The California Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will not be adjusting the state bar cut score, which is 1440.

Oct 18, 2017 5:47 PM CDT

Student lawsuits against Charlotte School of Law consolidated

A defense motion to consolidate three putative class actions filed against Charlotte School of Law—all of which allege that the for-profit law school misrepresented its ABA-accreditation status and bar passage rates—was granted Friday by a North Carolina U.S. District Court judge. The lawsuits were filed by former Charlotte School of…

Oct 17, 2017 12:54 PM CDT

Study of black Harvard law grads finds many leave private practice; 66% would recommend legal career

Black graduates of Harvard Law School leave private practice at a higher rate than white or black lawyers nationwide, according to a study of the graduates from 2000 to 2016.

Oct 17, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

After Hurricane Maria, some University of Puerto Rico law students come to mainland schools

Hiram Meléndez Juarbe was one week into teaching law school classes at the University of Puerto Rico when Hurricane Irma hit, and before they could reopen, Hurricane Maria arrived.

Oct 13, 2017 11:30 AM CDT

ABA Legal Ed committee suggests changes to rule on law school admissions tests

After recent announcements from various law schools that they will accept the GRE from applicants in addition to the LSAT, an American Bar Association section committee recently made various accreditation standard recommendations (PDF), including doing away with the separate admissions test rule entirely.

Oct 11, 2017 3:58 PM CDT

Is Department of Education data on student loan defaults an accurate reflection of law schools?

Among the thousands of schools listed in the U.S. Department of Education’s student loan default data released last week, 23 were law schools, all of which have individual identification numbers for participating in Title IV aid. The institute for College Access & Success, a nonprofit group that works to increase…

Oct 2, 2017 3:15 PM CDT