Law Schools

Blind Law School Applicant’s Suit Contends ABA Violates ADA by Promoting LSAT

A federal lawsuit filed in Michigan yesterday by a legally blind law school applicant contends that the American Bar Association is discriminating against the blind and visually impaired in the manner in which it accredits law schools. By pushing law schools to use the Law School Admission Test administered by…

May 25, 2011 6:00 PM CDT

Boxer Presses ABA on Law School Data Reporting

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) continued Friday to press the ABA to improve the accuracy and transparency of the information law schools must provide to prospective students. In a letter to ABA President Stephen N. Zack, Boxer acknowledged the ABA’s efforts on that front to date. But she also called…

May 23, 2011 8:02 PM CDT

Canadian Media See Controversy in Law School Hire of Deputy AG Who Signed Rendition Order

Another law school is drawing fire for hiring a former Justice Department official, but so far it’s been mostly a Canadian controversy. Inside Higher Ed has a story on the hire of former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, who is joining the University of Georgia law school as a professor.…

May 20, 2011 2:40 PM CDT

Law Grad Pleads Guilty in Methamphetamine Conspiracy

Jennifer Marie Patterson graduated last week from the University of Richmond law school, and on Thursday she was in court—as a defendant. Patterson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, report the Richmond Times-Dispatch, WTVR.com and WRIC.com. She could face up to life in prison,…

May 20, 2011 12:57 PM CDT

2Ls Have to Argue a Hypothetical in Pepper Hamilton’s ‘Hot Seat’ Interviews

Law students interviewing for summer associate positions at Pepper Hamilton can’t just rely on transcripts or law review experience to prove their legal abilities. Instead students will have to argue a hypothetical fact pattern with law firm lawyers as part of a three-pronged interviewing process, according to U.S. News &…

May 18, 2011 12:52 PM CDT

15-Year-Old College Grad Is Headed to Law School

Fifteen-year-old Ty Hobson-Powell has a big choice to make, and it doesn’t involve prom, his driver’s license or even college. Hobson-Powell is considering which law school to attend, the Baltimore Sun reports. He is the youngest person ever to graduate from the University of Baltimore, and he has been accepted…

May 18, 2011 11:47 AM CDT

Law Grad Admits Copying Part of His Commencement Speech from YouTube

A law graduate at North Carolina Central University delivered a commencement speech on Friday that touted the virtues of living an average life over the quest for fame and fortune. But the speech by Preston Mitchum, 25, was below average in one respect: He admits that he copied the speech,…

May 17, 2011 3:46 PM CDT

Indiana Tech Plans Law School; College President Says Jobs a Challenge in Any Field

Indiana will be home to a fifth law school beginning in 2013. Indiana Tech plans to open a law school in two years that will enroll about 100 students, report the National Law Journal and the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Tuition will be $28,500 the first year. Indiana Tech President…

May 17, 2011 3:10 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Hacking Osama Bin Laden; Case Western Scholarship Shift

Bin Laden’s Encryption Sharon Nelson, president of Sensei Enterprises, wondered at a Ride the Lightning post Tuesday whether the U.S. will be able to break Osama bin Laden’s encryption. “Encryption is a ballbuster,” she writes. “Assuming devices were powered off and encrypted using best practices, it will probably not be…

May 13, 2011 1:30 PM CDT

‘Most Likely to Succeed’ Helped Keep Harvard Law Student in School

Being voted “most likely to succeed” in high school can be a burden, but one Harvard law graduate credits the honor with helping keep him in school. The Wall Street Journal interviewed Brandon Hogan as part of a story on how those voted “most likely to succeed” fare later in…

May 12, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

In Something of a Trend, University of Delaware Ditches Plans for Law School

The University of Delaware has put plans for a law school on hold after a feasibility study projected a $165 million operating deficit during its first 10 years. The study also said the university needed to fund the school with $100 million in capital expenditures, the National Law Journal reports.…

May 10, 2011 12:31 PM CDT

Average Annual Law School Loan Jumped 50 Percent Since 2001

Law school student loan debt has reached an all-time high as students are borrowing more to cover rising tuition. The average amount borrowed annually by law students jumped 50 percent from 2001 to 2010, the Hartford Business Journal reports. In the last academic year, law students borrowed an average of…

May 9, 2011 2:32 PM CDT

Men Outnumber Women at Most Top Law Schools, But the Imbalance Is Greater at B-Schools

Women pursuing higher degrees are more likely to go law or medical school than business school, but they still make up less than half of the students at most high-profile law schools. Some MBA programs enroll three times as many men as women, Poets and Quants reports. A chart of…

May 9, 2011 12:14 PM CDT

Virginia 3L Admits He Made Up Racial Profiling Claim; University Won’t File Charges

Updated: A third-year law student at the University of Virginia who wrote a dramatic letter to the editor saying he had been the victim of racial profiling now says he made up the incident to call attention to the problem. The allegations by black law student Johnathan Perkins were published…

May 9, 2011 11:32 AM CDT

US News: Law Schools Should Quit Blaming Us for Their Policies

U.S. News & World Report is on the defensive after an article suggesting law schools are offering bait-and-switch scholarships in an effort to game the rankings. Law schools should stop blaming us, according to the Morse Code blog of U.S. News. “Law schools need to take far more direct responsibility…

May 5, 2011 1:55 PM CDT