Law Schools

Law Dean Pushes National Study of LSAT Alternatives

Researchers at UC-Berkeley School of Law have identified tests to measure characteristics that contribute to lawyer success, such as negotiating skills, problem-solving and stress management. Now the school’s dean is seeking support for national research on the issue. Berkeley law dean Christopher Edley has posted a message to a law…

Nov 7, 2008 3:06 PM CST

Harvard Law Warns Legal Services Clients of Lost Personal Data

Harvard Law School is warning thousands of clients at one of its legal services clinics that it has lost a backup computer tape containing Social Security numbers and other personal data. A technician lost the tape on the subway, the Boston Globe reports. The tape from the school’s legal clinic…

Nov 6, 2008 4:28 PM CST

‘Barack Effect’ May Spur Law Students to Seek Government Jobs

The head of a nonprofit group that promotes public interest law sees parallels between John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama. David Stern, executive director of Equal Justice Works, told the National Law Journal that Kennedy was a charismatic lawyer who encouraged public service, and Obama is of the same mold.…

Nov 6, 2008 3:27 PM CST

Obama is the Second US President with a Harvard Law Degree

Barack Obama is the second U.S. president who is a Harvard law graduate. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog says 24 presidents have been lawyers, while an ABA book, published before Obama’s election, counted 25. The only other president who had a Harvard law degree was Rutherford Hayes. The Wall…

Nov 5, 2008 5:11 PM CST

‘I Am to Lawyers What Dian Fossey is to Gorillas,’ Says Researcher at New Center

A law school known for its focus on real-world legal education has launched a new research center that will explore what lawyers do and why clients hire them. Says political scientist Herbert Kritzer: “I am to lawyers what Dian Fossey is to gorillas.” A professor at William Mitchell College of…

Nov 4, 2008 10:16 PM CST

InstaPundit Ranked Most Popular Law Prof Blog for Site Traffic

InstaPundit is the most popular blog edited by a law professor, according to the most recent traffic rankings. InstaPundit, written by University of Tennessee professor Glenn Reynolds, was a readers’ choice winner in the category of “politics for sport” in the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100. The Volokh Conspiracy, another readers’…

Oct 30, 2008 1:33 PM CDT

Blog Comments Can Tank Job Prospects

Blogging may help law students blow off some steam or connect with others, but it could harm their job search, warns a law firm recruiting manager. Writing in the Am Law Daily, Lynne Traverse of Bryan Cave gives an example. A student interviewing for a summer associate position listed her…

Oct 29, 2008 12:22 PM CDT

Harvard to Waive 3rd Year Tuition for Students Pursuing Public Interest Careers

A new program at Harvard Law School that will waive third-year tuition for students who commit to five-year public interest careers is attracting more interest than expected. More than 100 first-year students have signed up for the program, although they can still change their minds about participating, reports the Harvard…

Oct 28, 2008 4:38 PM CDT

Blogger Says Stanford is No. 1 Law School, based on Publication’s Data

Stanford Law School is at the top of a blogger’s list of best law schools that is developed from rankings by the Princeton Review. The Princeton Review rated law schools by 11 different categories, but did not combine them for an overall top law school list. The Princeton Review rankings…

Oct 27, 2008 12:24 PM CDT

Advice to Law Students Getting Job Offers: Accept Quickly

Law students weighing summer associate offers are getting this advice from the career services office at the University of Michigan: Accept. Now. Above the Law posted the letter carrying the ominous advice. Students are given 45 days to consider offers, the letter says, but “we think it prudent for you…

Oct 24, 2008 10:54 AM CDT

Troubled Kentucky Law School to Close

A troubled Kentucky law school will file for bankruptcy and close its doors at the end of the year. The Barkley School of Law in Paducah, with 10 full- and part-time students, is “just not viable,” its dean, Larry Putt, told the National Law Journal. A statement by the school’s…

Oct 23, 2008 1:39 PM CDT

Law School Free for UC Irvine’s Entering 2009 Class

Students who enroll at the University of California’s new law school in Irvine next fall will get their legal education for free. The law school is giving full tuition scholarships worth about $100,000 to its first 2009 class of about 60 students, the National Law Journal reports. Charles Cannon, assistant…

Oct 22, 2008 2:34 PM CDT

Job-Seeking Law Students Advised to be Flexible and Expect a Long Search

Law students should expect the job hunt to last six to eight months, making patience an important attribute, a law professor says. In a column for the American Lawyer, New York Law School professor Cameron Stracher warns of a difficult and lengthy job hunt but says students should not despair.…

Oct 22, 2008 1:36 PM CDT

Minority Enrollment Drop at U-M Law ‘Not a Tragedy’

Since it began using a race-blind admissions process after voters passed Prop. 2 in 2006, the University of Michigan has seen an 8 percent drop in minority enrollment. But statewide, the numbers are actually on the rise. This according to a Detroit News analysis of statewide admission numbers. The paper…

Oct 21, 2008 9:05 PM CDT

Harvard Poised to Take Yale in US News Rankings?

More money in budget coffers, a popular dean and a successful hiring spree are three of the changes that have prompted speculators to suggest that Harvard University is in a position to overtake Yale University in U.S. News & World Report’s controversial, but influential, annual law school rankings. In a…

Oct 20, 2008 9:12 PM CDT