Law Schools

For the Best Pay Relative to Education Cost, Choose Technical College over Law School, Analysts Say

Hedge fund managers evaluating likely default rates on student loans say law school debt is a bad investment. Their analysis translates to this advice for students: It may be better to go to technical college than law school. Hedge fund managers expect default rates on loans for all 2010 and…

Nov 14, 2011 12:37 PM CST

Lawyer-Turned-Entrepreneur Says He Had to Overcome His Legal Training to Succeed

A practicing lawyer who gave up a $200,000 salary to become an entrepreneur says his legal education posed obstacles in business. Writing for the Washington Post, Paul Mandell attributes about 75 percent of his business success to skills, knowledge and traits developed outside the classroom. His legal education, he says,…

Nov 10, 2011 11:29 AM CST

ABA Standards Review Committee: New Blood, New Direction?

The ABA Standards Review Committee that will meet later this week in Chicago bears little resemblance to the one that met last July in Minneapolis. The 14-member committee, which has spent the past three years working on a comprehensive overhaul of law school accreditation standards, has since gotten a new…

Nov 9, 2011 5:06 PM CST

Law School Applications Are Down in the US, But Not in Mississippi

Would-be law lawyers in Mississippi are bucking the trend and applying to law schools in about the same numbers as last year. Nationwide, law school applications are down by about 10 percent, the Jackson Clarion Ledger reports, citing information from the Law School Admission Council. But law schools at the…

Nov 9, 2011 1:11 PM CST

60 Top-Value Law Schools Named; Georgia State Is No. 1 Once Again

Georgia State University College of Law tops a list of best value law schools for the second year in a row. The law school charged in-state tuition of only $13,310 in 2010-11, the National Jurist reports in a story that ranks 60 best value law schools. TaxProf Blog has the…

Nov 8, 2011 1:36 PM CST

U of Illinois Law School Admits To Six Years of False LSAT/GPA Data

Updated: The University of Illinois acknowledged Monday that its law school reported and/or published inaccurate admissions data in six of the last 10 years. The university, in a prepared statement (PDF), said it had determined that Paul Pless, the law school’s former assistant dean for admissions and financial aid, who…

Nov 8, 2011 12:21 AM CST

W&M Law Dean Says His Students Were Not Actually Banned from Hotel After SBA Party

The dean of William & Mary law school says his students have not been banned from a Virginia hotel. An email dispatched by the Student Bar Association last month said students would not be allowed to return to the Crowne Plaza Williamsburg at Fort Magruder hotel because of inappropriate behavior…

Nov 7, 2011 12:28 PM CST

A Building Gets His Name: University of Florida Law School Honors Stephen N. Zack

The University of Florida’s law school has honored Stephen N. Zack by naming a building for the immediate-past ABA president. Zack (shown at the September ceremony) also announced the establishment of the Stephen N. Zack Law Endowment. It will provide funds for the law school to enhance academic programs that…

Nov 1, 2011 8:42 AM CDT

A Long, Hot Summer: Section to Pose New Questions About Law Grad Employment

Law schools took a public battering this year amid allegations that they have misled prospective students about just how hard it is for law graduates to find jobs. In the scenario laid out by critics, law schools tout high employment rates without disclosing specifics about the jobs. Some schools even…

Nov 1, 2011 6:40 AM CDT

Poll Finds Would-Be Law Students Are Getting the Message About Scarce Jobs

Would-be law students are less optimistic about finding a job after law school and more worried about student debt, according to a new survey. Sixty-seven percent of surveyed people considering or applying to law school say they are concerned about finding a job after graduation, compared to 63 percent who…

Oct 27, 2011 12:22 PM CDT

Law School Admissions Officers Are Googling Applicants and Checking Them Out on Facebook

Essays, test scores and grades aren’t the only criteria being considered by law school admissions officers. A new survey by Kaplan Test Prep reveals that admissions officials are also looking online for information, according to the National Law Journal, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and a press release. Forty-one…

Oct 25, 2011 12:03 PM CDT

Want to Lower the Cost of Law School and Legal Advice? Allow Nonlawyers to Practice Law, Op-Ed Says

An op-ed proposes one way to lower the cost of a legal education: Drop the requirement altogether. If states allowed nonlawyers and corporations to practice law, the price of legal advice would drop and more consumers could afford it, according to a New York Times op-ed by Clifford Winston, a…

Oct 25, 2011 11:33 AM CDT

More than Half of Federal Appeals Judges Traveled on Sponsored Trips; One Was Olympics Arbitrator

More than half of federal appeals judges took one or more sponsored trips in 2010, and nearly 10 percent of those who traveled went to foreign destinations. The figures are based on disclosure reports obtained by the National Law Journal for 253 active and senior appeals judges. (A few reports…

Oct 24, 2011 2:02 PM CDT

Cooley Dismissal Motion Says Misleading Stats Suit Reads ‘Like a Free-Form Rant’

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School comes out swinging in a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that claims students were misled by the school’s job statistics. Cooley’s motion (PDF) claims the plaintiffs’ complaint is so deficient that it violates Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. “The complaint…

Oct 21, 2011 1:59 PM CDT

UMass Law Dean Resigns Today, Effective Tomorrow, Cites Personal and Health Reasons

The dean of the new law school at the University of Massachusetts tendered his resignation today, effective at 5 p.m. tomorrow. Robert V. Ward Jr. cited personal and health reasons, as well as a two-hour commute in a resignation letter published by the Boston Herald. Unidentified sources at UMass said…

Oct 20, 2011 9:54 PM CDT