Economics

GWU Joins Lengthening List of Law Schools Opting to Reduce Class Size

Add another institution of legal learning to the lengthening list of those dealing with the recessionary economy by reducing the size of the incoming class. George Washington University Law School says it hopes to reduce enrollment in the first-year class from last year’s 474 to below 450, the National Law…

May 14, 2012 10:43 PM CDT

DOJ Doesn’t Tally Execs Convicted in Financial Crisis Wrongdoing; Is Embarrassment the Reason?

The U.S. Justice Department says it doesn’t keep track of the number of high-level executives convicted as a result of wrongdoing related to the financial crisis. In a letter to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the department disclosed what it did know, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Since the…

May 14, 2012 4:28 PM CDT

Chase CEO Suggests ‘Whale’ Swallowed $2B in Profits, Admits ‘Egregious Mistakes’; SEC Opens Probe

A trader working for JP Morgan Chase & Co. known as the “London Whale” is being publicly blamed for what the bank’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, describes as a potential $2 billion loss due to what news reports are calling a bet on corporate bonds. Dimon, who had last month called…

May 11, 2012 6:06 PM CDT

From Opposing Sides and in a Recession, Two Attorneys Form Their Own Firm

In May 2010, as financial turmoil hammered lawyers—from Michigan’s top firms to solo practices—and their clients, two former opposing counsel struck an usual bargain. One is a passionate class-action litigator and the other a savvy business lawyer, but Robert A. Alvarez and Raquel A. Salas shared the vision of a…

May 1, 2012 7:10 AM CDT

No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom: 2012 Law Day Theme Will Resonate with Calls for Court Funding

On January 18th, a group called the Open Courts Coalition filled a block of Grand Avenue in Los Angeles and held a rally to support funding for the state judicial system of California. Yes, you read that right—a rally for our courts that brought together members of the legal profession,…

Apr 1, 2012 10:10 AM CDT

Listen Up! Law Deans and Professors Discuss the Law School Loan Crisis

Deans see the law school bubble; now they seek to deflate it. The second installment of the Paradigm Shift series (see “The Law School Bubble,” January) showed how traditional U.S. legal education paradigms, driven by federal loan underwriting, are not responding to market forces as law schools continue to add…

Apr 1, 2012 8:00 AM CDT

There Go the Jobs: Positions Behind the Bench Are Expected to Drop

Dreaming of leaving the manic, day-to-day practice of law behind and waltzing into the less stressful, more secure niche of the judiciary? Your odds of making that transition are diminishing (and perhaps because of that, your assumptions are likely flawed). Judgeships are disappearing at a higher rate than jobs in…

Apr 1, 2012 7:30 AM CDT

Dean Says ‘Law School Bubble’ Was 25 Years in the Making

In this second part of a two-part podcast series, hear ABA Journal business of law reporter Rachel M. Zahorsky host follow-up discussions with law school deans and professors to explore the merits and critiques of federal loan programs, examine the root causes of the deep debt students face and propose potential solutions to combat future tuition hikes.

Mar 26, 2012 4:04 PM CDT

Law Deans and a Law Professor Respond to the ‘Law School Bubble’

Hear ABA Journal business of law reporter Rachel M. Zahorsky host follow-up discussions on the law school bubble with law school deans and professors to explore the merits and critiques of federal loan programs, examine the root causes of the deep debt students face and propose potential solutions to combat future tuition hikes.

Mar 22, 2012 4:10 PM CDT

FDIC Sues Officers of Another Failed Bank; Critics Say Agency Goes Easy on Ex-Executives

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sued 12 former directors and officers at the failed Freedom Bank in Georgia, part of an ongoing effort to recover losses to its insurance fund. The suit filed last week claims the bank made 21 loans without adequate documentation to borrowers who had no…

Mar 7, 2012 4:08 PM CST

Keeping Justice Afloat at Midyear: For Courts’ Sake, Politics Is on the Docket

Whether they like it or not, leaders of the judiciary must be willing to play politics in efforts to preserve funding for their state and local court systems. That was the collective message voiced by court administrators, members of the judiciary and legislators who engaged in blunt discussions on court…

Mar 1, 2012 7:50 AM CST

Legal Fees Top $100M for Ex-Fannie and Freddie Executives, and Taxpayers Cover the Tab

Legal fees for former executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have totaled $109 million since 2004, and taxpayers are advancing the money. A report by the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency says contracts calling for payment of the fees could have been repudiated when Fannie and…

Feb 22, 2012 1:08 PM CST

New York Prosecutors Subpoena Occupy Protester’s Twitter Posts

Occupy Wall Street protester Malcolm Harris says he’s not sure why the Manhattan District Attorney’s office has subpoenaed his Twitter posts. Harris, a freelance writer and editor, was charged with disorderly conduct after his arrest during an October protest on the Brooklyn Bridge, report Reuters and International Business Times. Harris’…

Feb 1, 2012 12:40 PM CST

Speaking Up: Helping Law Students Break Through the Silence of Depression

While vacationing with his family in the summer of 2005, Bill Treanor got the call every law school dean dreads. One of his most promising recent students, Fordham University School of Law grad Dave Nee, had taken his own life. “People were just devastated by his death,” says Treanor, now…

Feb 1, 2012 8:50 AM CST

Suit by Illinois AG Claims Credit Rating Agency Ignored Risks of Bundled Mortgages

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan claims in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday that Standard & Poor’s gave high ratings to mortgage-backed securities while ignoring the risks of the investments. Madigan accuses the company of bolstering ratings to retain clients and generate revenue, report the Chicago-Sun-Times and the Associated Press. The…

Jan 26, 2012 2:26 PM CST