Legal Education

Unranked law school changes its name; dean of similarly named school sees possibility of confusion

Updated: The South Texas College of Law has changed its name to Houston College of Law. Law dean Donald Guter tells Texas Lawyer (sub. req.) he hopes to improve recruiting and the reputation of the school by linking its name to its heritage and location. The law school is the…

Jun 22, 2016 4:24 PM CDT

Is law school a ‘fruitful choice’? Pay boost for JDs suggests a benefit, study says

The New York Times is taking another look at the value of law school after critics said its story highlighting the struggles of Valparaiso law school grads had ignored some bright spots in the statistics. The latest New York Times article, published at its DealBook blog, is entitled “Law School…

Jun 22, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

Two men are indicted in law prof’s slaying

Grand jurors in Leon County, Florida, on Friday indicted two men who were allegedly “enlisted” to kill Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. Grand jurors indicted Sigfredo Garcia, 34, and Luis Rivera, 33, both from South Florida, on charges of first-degree murder, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. According to arrest…

Jun 20, 2016 2:18 PM CDT

These two Valparaiso law grads exemplify challenges of difficult legal job market

The problems faced by law schools and their graduates are examined in a New York Times article that focuses on Valparaiso University Law School. Law school debt has risen from an average of about $95,000 in 2010 for borrowers at the average school to about $112,000 in 2014, the Times…

Jun 17, 2016 9:12 AM CDT

Harvard law grad’s suit alleges lack of bar exam accommodations devastated her BigLaw career

A Harvard law grad alleges she lost her job at Ropes & Gray because she wasn’t granted all her requested disability accommodations the first and second time she took the New York bar exam, causing her to flunk both times. The June 10 suit (PDF) by Tamara Wyche claims the…

Jun 15, 2016 10:19 AM CDT

Law school job statistics get extra scrutiny in random ABA audits

The ABA is for the first time conducting random audits of jobs data provided by law schools for the class of 2015. The auditors are examining data from 10 randomly selected law schools and from 382 randomly selected students from 156 law schools, Law.com (sub. req.) reports. The aim is…

Jun 14, 2016 1:26 PM CDT

Are your adult kids living at home? ‘Tiger mom’ law prof offers this contract

The Yale law professor who wrote a book about strict “Tiger mom” parenting decided there needed to be some rules when her two daughters informed her they would be staying at her apartment this summer. So she wrote up a contract. Writing in the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), law…

Jun 14, 2016 6:15 AM CDT

Applicants at these law schools were most likely to accept admission offers

The top-ranked law school by U.S. News & World Report is also the law school that has the highest yield rate—meaning it has the highest percentage of students offered admission who enrolled. At Yale, 74.3 percent of accepted students enrolled at the school in the fall of 2015, compared to…

Jun 9, 2016 7:04 AM CDT

Law prof backs recall of judge who sentenced Stanford swimming champ to six months for sex assault

Updated: A Stanford University law professor is participating in a recall effort against a California judge who sentenced a champion Stanford swimmer to six months in jail for sexual assault. The professor, Michele Dauber, criticized Judge Aaron Persky for apparently taking into account the defendant’s age, academic achievement and alcohol…

Jun 7, 2016 7:25 AM CDT

British Columbia law society appeals decision forcing it to admit students from Trinity Western

Trinity Western University’s ongoing battle with the Law Society of British Columbia has headed to the British Columbia Court of Appeals. On Friday, the Langley Times reported that the society has filed an appeal with the British Columbia Court of Appeals challenging a lower court’s decision allowing TWU graduates to…

Jun 3, 2016 4:50 PM CDT

Employees of some nonprofits get notified they don’t qualify for student loan forgiveness program

Some nonprofit employees counting on the federal government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program recently received word that they don’t qualify, for reasons that remain unclear. The change might be related to an employer’s tax status. Part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, the PSLF program includes…

Jun 2, 2016 10:12 AM CDT

Affidavit links law prof’s slaying to ‘desperate desire’ of ex-wife’s family to win battle over kids

Updated: A probable cause affidavit links the murder of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel at his Tallahassee home to a battle over the relocation of his children following his bitter divorce from another law professor, Wendi Adelson. “Investigators believe motive for this murder stemmed from the desperate desire…

Jun 2, 2016 9:43 AM CDT

Proposals to amend law school accreditation standards would require more focus on grads’ bar passage

Law schools could be at greater risk of losing their good standing under a pair of proposed changes in the ABA’s accreditation standards that are now being circulated for public feedback.

Jun 1, 2016 1:00 AM CDT

This law school sent the most grads into full-time, long-term legal jobs

The University of Chicago Law School sent nearly 91 percent of its 2015 graduates to full-time, long-term legal jobs, earning it a No. 1 spot on a list of the top schools for such employment. The National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports on its findings, which are based on ABA…

May 26, 2016 9:25 AM CDT

Man is charged in death of law prof Dan Markel; case is reportedly investigated as murder for hire

Updated: Police in Tallahassee, Florida, have arrested a man with a criminal record in the July 2014 shooting death of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. Police arrested Sigfredo Garcia, 34, on Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder and possession of cocaine, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Unidentified sources told…

May 26, 2016 7:01 AM CDT