Legal Education

A ‘Spirit of Amity’ and the Original Meaning of Civility: Derek Webb’s thoughts at ABA Annual

A few months before Derek Webb came to Chicago to the ABA Annual Conference, King Charles cited Webb's work on Magna Carta in the king’s April speech to a joint session of Congress. The ABA could not have asked for a more eminent endorsement.

Oct 13, 2026 2:50 PM CDT

Grand Canyon University names founding dean of new law school

Grand Canyon University in Arizona has picked James L. Williams as its founding dean for its newly established law school.

Oct 13, 2026 10:59 AM CDT

NCBE runs remotely proctored test to audition NextGen UBE questions

The National Conference of Bar Examiners is using proctored remote testing to test-drive potential questions for upcoming administrations of the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination, including some questions generated with support from artificial intelligence.

Oct 8, 2026 12:53 PM CDT

Tennessee Supreme Court broadens who can take bar exam

The Tennessee Supreme Court will broaden the pool of candidates able to take the bar exam, according to an order Friday stating that graduates from law schools approved by accreditors other than the council for the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar also can take the bar.

Oct 6, 2026 9:36 AM CDT

DOJ accuses UCLA School of Law of racial discrimination

The University of California at Los Angeles School of Law is the latest to face scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice, which found that the law school discriminated against white and Asian applicants between 2019 and 2025, violating the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling banning considerations regarding race in admissions.

Oct 5, 2026 10:26 AM CDT

NCBE will use staggered start times for NextGen UBE administrations

Updated: After technical issues scrapped the inaugural administration of the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam in Washington in July, the National Conference of Bar Examiners says it will start staggering times at testing locations for future exams.

Oct 5, 2026 9:16 AM CDT

Melissa Hart, the chair of the ABA Legal Ed council, dies

Updated: Melissa Hart, the chair of the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, died Thursday. Hart, who retired from the Colorado Supreme Court in January, previously was a professor at the University of Colorado Law School and directed the Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law, assumed the council chair position in August.

Oct 2, 2026 9:26 AM CDT

Interim law dean of University of Florida named to permanent role

Merritt McAlister, the interim law dean at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, has been elevated to serve in the dean role on a permanent basis.

Oct 1, 2026 12:40 PM CDT

As ABA Legal Ed council awaits Dept. of Education accreditation decision, educators consider future

U.S. Department of Education Under Secretary Nicholas Kent’s decision regarding the accreditor status of the council of the ABA Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar will come by year’s end, but legal education leaders are already preparing for what it might mean if the council is stripped of its powers.

Oct 1, 2026 9:31 AM CDT

An Open Book: Law professor with bipolar disorder says people with mental illness can empower each other

The most dangerous moments of Fredrick Vars’ life guided his career path.

Oct 1, 2026 12:40 AM CDT

Taking a Stand: ABA House adopts policies on professional independence, legal education and more

The American Bar Association House of Delegates adopted more than 40 policy matters on a wide variety of issues when it met during the 2026 ABA Annual Conference in Chicago in August, including the independence of the legal profession and judiciary; warrantless immigration searches and arrests; law enforcement protocols; law student recruitment; funding for law schools of historically Black colleges and universities; and ethics and Model Rules.

Oct 1, 2026 12:25 AM CDT

Engineers have sounded alarm on AI; lawyers can help build response

I have spent much of my career on the technology of law: how technology, and now generative AI, is changing the delivery of legal services and how law schools should adapt. That work is as important as ever, and the legal profession is increasingly focused on it. At the same time, more lawyers need to help shape the law of technology: the statutes, regulations and other legal infrastructure that govern how artificial intelligence is built and deployed and who is legally responsible when AI causes harm.

Sep 30, 2026 9:14 AM CDT

Competition for law school admissions expected to remain hot

Thanks to the charged political climate, the law school application boom of the past two years will continue to be strong this year, which may shape up to be more competitive than last year, according to a survey released Tuesday by test prep company Kaplan.

Sep 29, 2026 10:59 AM CDT

Pass rate for inaugural NextGen UBE administration hits 72.7%, NCBE says

Despite disruptions in two states, the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam’s pass rate for the inaugural 2026 administration hit 72.7%.

Sep 28, 2026 1:20 PM CDT

Law school grades are related to bar passage, new study finds

Grades in law school do matter, at least as they relate to first-time bar passage, according to a new study.

Sep 25, 2026 10:34 AM CDT