Legal Education

The ‘think like a lawyer’ approach to law school is outdated

I have been writing about change within the legal industry for a few years, but have held off commenting directly on the law school and bar experience for a couple of reasons.

Jun 14, 2018 7:00 AM CDT

Arizona Summit loses accreditation approval, which may be a first for an operating law school

Accreditation approval has been withdrawn for Arizona Summit Law School, the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar announced last week.

Jun 11, 2018 9:30 AM CDT

What advice do you have for someone studying for the bar exam?

School is out, and for recent law school graduates, it's bar exam season.

Jun 6, 2018 1:58 PM CDT

Court filing has more details about Cooley Law coming into compliance with admissions standard

When Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School in March was found to be back in compliance with an ABA accreditation standard regarding admissions, it was after the school agreed to no longer admit students with predicted law school grade point averages below 2.1, and limit admittees with predicted GPAs between 2.2 and 2.49 to part-time enrollment, according to an accreditation committee decision made public in a recent court filing.

Jun 6, 2018 7:20 AM CDT

Is the NFL’s anthem policy constitutional? Not in some states, law prof argues

State constitutions may protect players who are fined for violating the NFL's ban on protests during the national anthem, according to incoming Harvard law professor Nikolas Bowie.

Jun 6, 2018 7:05 AM CDT

Magna cum laude law grad, 7 years sober, led a charge for students’ well-being

At Marquette University Law School's orientation for new students, Michael Anspach heard about “bar review,” a weekly event that involved meeting at bars for drinks, and he expressed interest in starting a sober club on campus.

May 31, 2018 7:05 AM CDT

Was law prof part of a lawsuit-plotting ‘cabal’? State ridicules ‘imagined conspiracy’

A cable provider sued by the state of New York for allegedly overpromising internet speeds has notified the judge that it intends to claim the state of New York conspired with a law professor and technology companies to bring the lawsuit.

May 30, 2018 4:12 PM CDT

Arizona Summit sues ABA, 3rd for-profit InfiLaw school to do so

On Thursday, Arizona Summit Law School was the third InfiLaw school to sue the American Bar Association in a month, arguing that due process rights were violated before and after the 2017 decision to put the for-profit school on probation.

May 24, 2018 5:17 PM CDT

Studying for the bar? Put down the phone—or not

The days of attending bar review classes in person are waning, say law school deans, and recent graduates preparing for the bar now do a great deal of studying on smartphones with offerings like streamed lectures, flashcard apps and even YouTube songs devoted to thinking through statutes and case law.

May 22, 2018 7:00 AM CDT

Pass rate for February’s California state bar exam drops by more than 7 percentage points

Continuing a downward trend in recent years, the overall pass rate for February's California state bar exam was 27.3 percent, according to a State Bar of California press release issued Friday.

May 21, 2018 1:35 PM CDT

After previously defending lower pay for female profs, DU Law School enters EEOC consent decree

Seven female professors at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law will receive back pay, compensatory damages and compensation increases stemming from an equal pay lawsuit brought in 2016 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

May 17, 2018 4:49 PM CDT

Top law schools ask law firms to disclose arbitration agreements for summer associates

After an outcry that law schools, not students, should be responsible for asking law firms about mandatory arbitration agreements and nondisclosure provisions for summer associates, 14 of the country’s top law schools this week asked that firms participating in campus recruiting disclose such policies in a new survey.

May 17, 2018 7:10 AM CDT

Charlotte School of Law sues ABA, arguing it was never out of compliance with bar pass rule

Updated: Following the Florida Coastal School of Law lawsuit filed against the American Bar Association last week, another InfiLaw school, the now-shuttered Charlotte School of Law, has sued the organization, arguing the ABA violated the law school's due process rights when it placed the law school on probation in November 2016.

May 15, 2018 6:31 PM CDT

UVA Law to receive $43.9 million donation from 2 alumni

Martha and Bruce Karsh, a couple who met at the University of Virginia School of Law, will donate $43.9 million to their alma mater.

May 14, 2018 11:35 AM CDT

Your Voice: Abandoning law school admissions testing would harm students, not help

Since 1980, I have been consistently reviewing law school applications. Even then, as a first-generation black American college work-study student in the admissions office at Columbia Law School, it was pretty clear to me that admission to elite law schools was preordained by one’s academic pedigree. Some of the faculty…

May 14, 2018 7:00 AM CDT