Law Schools

St. Thomas College of Law falls out of compliance with ABA accreditation standard

Updated: The council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has found the St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law out of compliance with an ABA accreditation standard focused on sufficiency of financial resources and also denied its application to create a part-time hybrid-distance JD program.

Mar 19, 2025 2:53 PM CDT

State Bar of California considers provisional licenses for February bar exam takers

Updated: The State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners has placed the option of provisional licenses for candidates who fail or withdrew from the February California bar exam on the table.

Mar 17, 2025 2:32 PM CDT

Law prof suspended over exam question, class discussion can sue for First Amendment retaliation, 7th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has revived a First Amendment retaliation claim by a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law who used an “expurgated racial slur” on an exam question, leading to an investigation, required diversity training, a suspension and denial of a pay raise.

Mar 13, 2025 2:14 PM CDT

On-campus recruiting for summer associates falls in popularity as law firms ‘jockey for positions’

On-campus interviewing by law firms has “firmly tumbled from its place of prominence” in the recruiting of summer associates, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Association for Law Placement.

Mar 13, 2025 12:44 PM CDT

Former George Mason University law prof says he’s ‘fully vindicated’ after ‘relatively modest’ defamation suit settlement

A former professor at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School has reached a settlement in his defamation lawsuit against two former students who alleged that he abused his power to initiate sexual relationships with them when they were law students.

Mar 12, 2025 2:59 PM CDT

More first-time bar candidates passed exam in 2024, new ABA data shows

The percentage of successful first-time bar exam takers in 2024 increased more than 3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to data released Wednesday by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

Mar 12, 2025 2:25 PM CDT

Texas commits to NextGen bar exam starting in 2028, NCBE says

Texas will begin administering the NextGen bar exam starting in July 2028, joining 36 of the 56 jurisdictions that test bar candidates, according to a March 11 press release from the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Mar 11, 2025 2:29 PM CDT

ABA Legal Ed council suspended diversity standard; AG Bondi wants it scrapped

A move last month by the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar to suspend the accreditation standard originally titled “Diversity and Inclusion” doesn’t go far enough, according to a Feb. 28 letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who wants the council to abolish it “immediately” or risk the right to accredit law schools.

Mar 6, 2025 1:32 PM CST

DC US attorney tells Georgetown he won’t hire from any school with ‘DEI’

Interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin demanded that the dean of Georgetown Law School end all diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the school, asserting in a letter that his office will not consider hiring anyone affiliated with a university that utilizes DEI.

Mar 6, 2025 12:55 PM CST

ABA and HBCUs highlight environmental law jobs through new partnership

As part of a new initiative, the ABA and several historically Black colleges and universities are working together to engage students who are interested in environmental, energy and natural resources law.

Mar 4, 2025 2:44 PM CST

As fallout rains down, California considers return to in-person bar exam

Updated: The flurry of finger-pointing and attempts at rectifying the fallout from the disastrous February administration of California’s new bar exam continues, as the State Bar of California considers returning to an in-person administration for the July exam, scrutinizes its vendor’s failed performance for possible breach of contract, and faces a potential audit.

Mar 4, 2025 9:02 AM CST

California bar hunts for who leaked bar questions, applicants sue test administrator

The State Bar of California will engage forensic experts to identify those who posted content from its new exam online, a move that forced it to push back the planned makeup exam of the troubled test riddled with a host of issues with proctors, connectivity and submission problems, according to a Feb. 27 email.

Feb 28, 2025 11:30 AM CST

8th Circuit injunction leaves only the most expensive student-loan-repayment options available

A court order expanding an injunction to block President Joe Biden’s student loan repayment plan is wreaking havoc on the entire federal student loan portfolio as borrowers are left with only the most expensive repayment options.

Feb 28, 2025 8:56 AM CST

ABA Legal Ed council suspends accreditation standard focused on diversity

Updated: The council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has suspended enforcement of the accreditation standard originally titled “Diversity and Inclusion” until Aug. 31 in the wake of a Trump administration executive order mandating the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and demands by the U.S. Department of Education that academic institutions eliminate DEI polices or risk federal funding cuts.

Feb 21, 2025 3:44 PM CST

In ‘power move’ over independent agencies, Trump demands review of proposed regulations

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Tuesday that requires all agencies to submit proposed regulations to the White House for review, with no carve-out for independent agencies.

Feb 21, 2025 9:47 AM CST