Legal Education

Law grad with sleep apnea isn’t entitled to accommodation in bar admission process, court says

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld a decision to deny bar admission to a Florida Coastal law grad who contended his sleep apnea should have been accommodated as a disability during the application process.

Aug 29, 2018 6:05 AM CDT

Exploring the contours of context in using the N-word in class

While this may serve a pedagogical purpose for non-African-American students, it can create an abusive and degrading learning environment for African-American students, whose very reaction to the word is used as a teaching point.

Aug 28, 2018 6:05 AM CDT

Halting the hover: Dealing with helicopter parents in law school (podcast)

As an associate dean of the University of Houston Law Center, Sondra Tennessee has witnessed her share of helicopter parents. She’s seen parents ask law schools to switch their child’s professor, because they didn’t think he or she was a good fit.

Aug 27, 2018 6:05 AM CDT

Judge tosses Georgetown law grad’s suit over school job fair ban

A federal judge in Texas has tossed a $5 million lawsuit against Georgetown University’s law school by a graduate who claimed he was barred as an employer from a school hiring fair because of discrimination and retaliation.

Aug 17, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

No fall classes at Arizona Summit, school says, and a teach-out plan is being negotiated

Updated: Arizona Summit School of Law will not be holding classes this fall, and it’s negotiating a teach-out agreement with another law school, according to a statement released by the school Tuesday.

Aug 14, 2018 2:20 PM CDT

An open letter to potential law students: Know the truth

With the recent news that some BigLaw starting salaries are rising to $190,000, it’s no wonder that law school continues to be a top destination for recent college graduates. However, the truth behind those starting salaries—and given the volatility of the legal job market and the effects of globalization and technology on the business of law—should give one pause before taking out $200,000 in school loans.

Aug 13, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

Law students less likely to get A’s from professors who are a different gender or race, study finds

An AccessLex Institute-funded research paper has found that first-year law students are 3 percent less likely to get A's or A-minuses in classes taught by someone of the opposite gender, and 10 percent less likely to earn A's or A-minuses when the class is taught by someone of a different race.

Aug 9, 2018 3:01 PM CDT

After withdrawal of law school admissions test rule revision, will fewer schools accept the GRE?

Law school deans expect that fewer schools than anticipated will now be accepting entrance exams besides the LSAT. And while it seems clear that those schools planning to do so must submit validity studies, how school-specific do those studies need to be?

Aug 9, 2018 6:10 AM CDT

Plan to drop law school entry exam requirement withdrawn before ABA House vote

The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar withdrew a resolution before the ABA House of Delegates on Monday that called for cutting Standard 503, which requires an exam for law school admission, and beefing up Standard 501 to include the use of admission credentials and academic attrition when determining accreditation compliance.

Aug 6, 2018 7:26 PM CDT

Legal education council delays action on questionnaire guidance

As the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar awaits action on a proposal to eliminate an admissions test requirement for law schools, its council postponed decisions on new guidance for annual questionnaires, which are used for 509 Reports. Part of the Friday’s discussion, held during ABA…

Aug 3, 2018 7:14 PM CDT

Panel denies motion to consolidate suits against ABA by 3 InfiLaw schools

An American Bar Association motion to consolidate three federal actions filed by for-profit law schools owned by InfiLaw, all alleging due process violations regarding law school accreditation, was denied by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

Aug 2, 2018 10:01 AM CDT

Legal education council to discuss admission standards, reorganization

While awaiting ABA House of Delegates action on two major legal education resolutions, the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar will discuss guidance for admissions standards and reporting disclosures during the open session of its Friday meeting.

Aug 2, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

Presidents of Arizona Summit and Cooley Law are leaving their positions

Both Donald Lively, the president of InfiLaw’s for-profit Arizona Summit School of Law, and Don LeDuc, the president and dean of Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, are leaving their positions.

Aug 1, 2018 2:29 PM CDT

More people are applying to law schools: Does the jobs data support increasing class sizes?

The pool of applicants is rising, but deans are chastened by a fragile job market for young lawyers.

Aug 1, 2018 1:45 AM CDT

While number of lawyer jobs have been decreasing, law school applications are up more than 8%

Law school applications have increased by more than 8 percent, and some schools are reportedly concerned about over over-enrollment.

“Because the demand was so strong, some schools are finding that they may have had higher yield rates than they had in prior years, and they may have larger classes than they aimed for,” Kellye Testy, president of the Law School Admissions Counsel, told Law.com. She advises matching enrollment with employment opportunities for new lawyers.

Jul 31, 2018 2:40 PM CDT