Legal Education

Debate ensues over University of New Mexico law dean’s contract renewal with admissions policies at center

After calls to not renew the contract of the dean of the University of New Mexico School of Law based on allegations that include a decrease in diverse students and faculty, some professors are standing in support of her retention.

Jul 6, 2026 10:40 AM CDT

University of Kentucky’s board of trustees changes rules after controversial law dean pick

After the University of Kentucky’s appointment of a Kentucky federal judge as the dean of its J. David Rosenberg College of Law, the university’s board of trustees voted Tuesday to change a policy that restores its authority to appoint deans.

Jul 2, 2026 11:31 AM CDT

Public Service Loan Forgiveness ruling is a win for access to justice

Court rulings that this week struck down the U.S. Department of Education's new Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) employer rule are a victory for the rule of law and for everyone working to promote access to justice for all.

Jul 2, 2026 10:06 AM CDT

After emergencies mar bar exam, New York State Bar Association aims to add new procedures

The New York State Bar Association is aiming to install new procedures after two recent emergencies have happened during the bar exam administration in the past year.

Jul 1, 2026 11:27 AM CDT

Supreme Court expanded Trump’s power but was unwilling to go as far as he wanted

Liberal Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson scorched her conservative colleagues in a dissent this term, accusing them of contorting the law in a series of rulings so President Donald Trump “always wins.”

Jul 1, 2026 10:17 AM CDT

Former Trump White House counsel named interim dean of Florida International University College of Law

A former personal attorney for President Donald Trump and a former White House counsel during the first Trump administration will become the interim dean of the Florida International University College of Law, starting in August.

Jul 1, 2026 8:10 AM CDT

Back to the Future: As the country celebrates its 250th anniversary, old methods of training lawyers are back in style

To mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the ABA Journal traced the purpose and pedagogy of legal education throughout our nation’s history to gain insight on where we are now and where we might head. Can the future of best practices to educate lawyers and admit them to the bar be found in a close look at the past? Could early American educational methods offer a preview of what’s to come—and what to avoid—in legal education? And how can debates about the proper balance between academics and working with the practicing bar to provide quality legal education inform today’s and tomorrow’s standards?

Jul 1, 2026 1:50 AM CDT

Is AI getting better at law school exams? Maybe not, new study shows

The latest version of OpenAI’s reasoning model might not be much better at taking law school exams than last year’s version, according to a new study by the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

Jun 29, 2026 10:58 AM CDT

Can law schools learn from computer science programs in the debate on generative AI?

Corrected: In many university computer science programs, students are not only allowed to use artificial intelligence during exams, but they are also encouraged to learn about the benefits and efficiency that AI provides to the coding process. However, during exams, the students must also explain how and why they relied on AI, walk through their coding decisions, and demonstrate they understand the functionality.

Jun 29, 2026 9:24 AM CDT

New Mexico justices propose new pathway to the bar to ease rural legal desert

According to the justices’ report, Rural Justice and Modernizing the Legal Profession in New Mexico, 22 of the state’s 33 counties have less than 1 lawyer per 1,000 residents, with 85% of lawyers clustered in the state’s larger cities.

Jun 26, 2026 4:43 PM CDT

Some law profs move to old-school assessment methods to combat AI

Law professors are finding ways to double-check their students’ true judgment and knowledge of the law with oral exams and other traditional formats, such as tests using locked-down software.

Jun 26, 2026 12:43 PM CDT

Nearly one quarter of UCLA law students granted extra time on exams

Nearly one quarter of law students at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law received disability accommodations granting them extra time for exams, according to records obtained by the California Post.

Jun 26, 2026 10:41 AM CDT

University of Texas law dean shifts AI policy to prevent ‘cognitive deskilling’

Faculty at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law should emphasize Socratic questioning to make sure that the students don’t experience “cognitive deskilling,” or the erosion of their reasoning abilities, from using artificial intelligence, according to an eight-page memo from the law school's dean sent last week.

Jun 23, 2026 9:49 AM CDT

Some law grads stack judicial clerkships, closing others out of coveted opportunity

Access to judicial clerkships is shrinking as some law graduates grab multiple coveted positions—sometimes as many as four—before entering the workforce, according to a new study by three law professors.

Jun 22, 2026 7:49 AM CDT

Mental health law becomes this law prof and author’s focus after walking ‘Through the Fire’

The most dangerous moments of Fredrick Vars’ life guided his career path. Just days after he’d won his first jury trial representing a union member suing the union for retaliation, he experienced his first psychotic episode. Though he had dealt with depression much of his life, he’d later be diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Jun 17, 2026 3:01 PM CDT