Legal Education

Law student prevails against Marvel and DC Comics over use of word ‘superhero’ in book title

A British businessman who is also a law student got some real-world legal experience over the last few years when the title of his self-help book, Business Zero to Superhero, caught the attention of major comic-book publishers. Although competitors in the publishing world, Marvel Comics and DC Comics band together…

May 25, 2016 11:20 AM CDT

These law schools top rankings that focus on quality legal jobs

Yale Law School and Harvard Law School have traded places in Above the Law’s latest law-school rankings that focus on lawyer jobs and quality positions. Yale Law School moved up from No. 5 to No. 1 in Above the Law’s rankings of 50 law schools, while Harvard Law School moved…

May 24, 2016 8:10 AM CDT

Law grad who inflated resume and failed to mention speeding tickets wins conditional bar admission

A University of Wisconsin law graduate who boosted his grades and falsely claimed he was on law review when applying for a job has won conditional admission to the state bar. In a 4-3 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court admitted Joshua Jarrett to the bar provided that a licensed lawyer…

May 19, 2016 12:11 PM CDT

Federal magistrate gets LLM at Duke after law school rejection 40 years ago

A federal magistrate has received a master’s in judicial studies from Duke University School of Law 40 years after his rejection by the law school. U.S. Magistrate Joe Webster of Durham, North Carolina, graduated on Saturday, the Durham Herald-Sun (sub. req.) reports in a story reprinted in the Greensboro News…

May 19, 2016 11:18 AM CDT

It’s official: George Mason’s law school to take name of the late Justice Scalia

Sidestepping a controversy over whether the law school at George Mason University should be renamed in honor of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in a move linked to $30 million in donations, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia on Tuesday voted unanimously to leave the…

May 17, 2016 3:15 PM CDT

How the University of Minnesota Law School is dealing with a sizable drop in applications

The University of Minnesota Law School named a new law dean on Thursday who will carry out the school’s strategy for dealing with one of the largest declines in applications among the nation’s top 20 law schools. Ohio State University law professor Garry Jenkins will take over as Minnesota’s law…

May 16, 2016 6:15 AM CDT

George Mason law profs support name change to Scalia Law, apologize for university faculty

The law faculty at George Mason University doesn’t have a problem with changing the school’s name to the Antonin Scalia Law School. The law school’s tenured and tenure-track faculty on Thursday approved a resolution supporting the renaming, report the Washington Post and Bloomberg Big Law Business. The vote was unanimous,…

May 13, 2016 10:01 AM CDT

9th Circuit removes judge who slashed attorney fees from BarBri antitrust class action

A trial judge cannot simply cut by 70 percent the requested $1.9 million attorney fee award in a winning antitrust class action without providing a detailed explanation why he did so, a federal appeals court has ruled. A Wednesday opinion (PDF) by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of…

May 12, 2016 2:00 PM CDT

LSAC won’t eject law school that plans to accept GRE, at least for now

The Law School Admission Council says it is waiting for more information on the reliability of the Graduate Record Exam before deciding whether to oust a law school that is accepting the test from applicants. The LSAC posted a letter (PDF) this weekend saying its request for more information from…

May 10, 2016 10:21 AM CDT

GMU law school’s name change to honor Scalia should be delayed, says faculty senate

The ongoing battle over renaming the George Mason University’s law school to honor the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia intensified Wednesday when the faculty senate demanded answers about the influence of private donors on academic integrity, such as tying funds for scholarships to the continued service of the…

May 5, 2016 1:05 PM CDT

Employment data for 2015 law school grads is concerning, some law profs say

Updated: Out of everyone who graduated from ABA-accredited law schools in 2015, 70 percent have full-time, long-term employment in positions that require or prefer a JD, according to data (PDF) released Tuesday by the ABA’s Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. Comparatively, 69 percent of the 2014…

May 3, 2016 5:48 PM CDT

Scalia name change for George Mason law school shows viewpoint diversity, says university president

George Mason University, a public college, is not becoming too dependent on private donations, says its president, who has heard concerns about its recent $30 million in law school gifts from seemingly conservative donors. This spring, the law school received a $10 million donation from the Charles Koch Foundation, the…

May 2, 2016 10:20 AM CDT

Two reluctant entrepreneurs tackle challenge of copyright duration

Elizabeth Townsend Gard was researching British literature when it became clear that she would have to learn something about copyrights. It was 1994, and Gard was trying to start her dissertation on the author Vera Brittain, who is best known for her work set during World War I. She didn't…

May 1, 2016 4:00 AM CDT

Loyola Chicago morphs its evening JD program into a weekend one

For the time-pressed aspiring JDs of the world, Loyola University Chicago's School of Law has an attractive offering: Starting this fall, it is turning its part-time, evening JD program into a weekend offering.

May 1, 2016 3:10 AM CDT

Faculty senate at George Mason expresses ‘deep concern’ about renaming law school for Scalia

The faculty senate of George Mason University has approved a resolution expressing “deep concern” about a $30 million gift that is tied to renaming the law school after the late Justice Antonin Scalia. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog and the New York Times cover the latest controversy over plans…

Apr 29, 2016 7:27 AM CDT