Legal Education

Former Baylor president Ken Starr resigns from law faculty in ‘mutually agreed separation’

Three months after he was ousted as president of Baylor University, Ken Starr has announced he is leaving his position as a law professor at the school. Starr is leaving the law faculty in a “mutually agreed separation,” according to a statement released on Friday. WFAA, the Dallas Morning News,…

Aug 19, 2016 11:38 AM CDT

Noted law prof defends his Trump tweet, says he underestimated Twitterverse cynicism

It was this tweet by Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe that led to online condemnation: “I have notes of when Trump phoned me for legal advice in 1996. I’m now figuring out whether our talk was privileged.” Tribe later concluded in another tweet that he was at liberty to…

Aug 19, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

ThinkSmart and Michigan State team up for class on legal process automation

Michigan State University College of Law and ThinkSmart are teaming up to teach law students about automation. In a Thursday press release, ThinkSmart announced that its ThinkSmart Automation Platform (TAP) would be integrated into a course to be taught at LegalRnD—The Center for Legal Services Innovation at Michigan State University…

Aug 18, 2016 3:05 PM CDT

Arizona Summit Law School seeks university affiliation, requires mock bar exam passage

Updated: The Arizona Summit Law School is taking a new step in a bid to bolster its reputation. The school plans to partner with a major university, Above the Law reports. Summit president Don Lively says in a press release that the school is “negotiating with a few universities that…

Aug 17, 2016 3:07 PM CDT

Are law firm jobs declining? Private practice jobs drop 7.6 percent for class of 2015

Last year’s law school graduates snagged fewer private practice jobs than any class since 1996, according to an analysis of the statistics by the National Association for Law Placement. Among employed law school graduates from the class of 2015, 51.3 percent found jobs in private practice, according to a NALP…

Aug 17, 2016 10:48 AM CDT

Suit over Widener law school’s job statistics can’t be brought as a class action, 3rd Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has ruled for Widener University School of Law in a would-be class action claiming the school posted misleading job statistics. The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) on Tuesday that the suit can’t be certified as a class action, report Law.com (sub. req.)…

Aug 17, 2016 9:15 AM CDT

ABA’s Veterans Legal Services Initiative aims to create online resource, mobilize lawyers

ABA President Linda Klein has announced an effort to provide legal representation and resources for veterans. Klein says in a video that she became aware of the needs of veterans when members of her law firm volunteered at a homeless shelter. She learned that over half the needs of homeless…

Aug 10, 2016 2:16 PM CDT

New Texas law school not recommended for ABA accreditation

The ABA’s accreditation committee has recommended that the University of North Texas Dallas College of Law not receive accreditation, the school’s dean told the ABA Journal, and he plans a response. “We will get a fair hearing,” says Royal Furgeson Jr., UNT Dallas Law’s dean and a former U.S. district…

Aug 10, 2016 12:36 PM CDT

How law firms compete for fewer students in on-campus interviews

Competition among law firms is heating up as they chase fewer students in on-campus interviews. Law school enrollment dropped from 52,488 in 2010-2011 to 37,058 in 2015-2016, Law.com (sub. req.) reports. Meanwhile, law schools are seeing the same or slightly more law firms participating in on-campus interviews, Law.com reports in…

Aug 10, 2016 8:55 AM CDT

Organization that administers GRE offered to share exam results with Law School Admissions Council

Though the organization that administers the LSAT has said it would stop certifying law schools average scores because schools might use another test for admissions, the organization administering that other test, the GRE, says it offered to help resolve difficulties in certifying scores. The Law School Admission Council announced that…

Aug 9, 2016 5:41 PM CDT

Could members of the electoral college go rogue on Trump?

The election may not be decided in November, even if there are no hanging chads and disputed vote counts. That’s because the electoral college doesn’t cast votes for president and vice president until December, and the votes aren’t counted by Congress until January, Pepperdine University law professor Derek Muller wrote…

Aug 8, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

LSAC says it won’t continue certifying LSAT scores for the ABA

Updated: The Law School Admission Council, which certifies LSAT scores and undergraduate GPA data submitted by law schools for ABA accreditation, announced Aug. 2 that it intends to suspend the service. The organization’s letter cites consideration by the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the…

Aug 5, 2016 5:50 PM CDT

Ex-wife and her family deny involvement in law prof’s slaying

The ex-wife of slain law professor Dan Markel and her family members have released a statement denying any involvement in his death. The statement said that neither Markel’s ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, nor other Adelson family members “had anything to do with Dan’s murder.” The Associated Press, the Tallahassee Democrat, the…

Aug 4, 2016 12:40 PM CDT

Jenner and University of Chicago Law School open SCOTUS clinic

A U.S. Supreme Court clinic, led by a University of Chicago law professor and appellate lawyers from Jenner & Block, has opened. Clients will be represented pro bono at the Jenner & Block University of Chicago Law School Supreme Court and Appellate Clinic, according to a press release. Students working…

Aug 2, 2016 1:30 PM CDT

Why Tim Kaine became disillusioned at Harvard Law School

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine experienced some “bumpy years” at Harvard Law School, according to a newspaper account of his years there. Kaine was the son of a metal shop owner and a graduate of a Jesuit boys’ school in Kansas City, the Boston Globe reports. When he entered…

Aug 2, 2016 11:04 AM CDT