Recent Headlines from Above the Law
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Law Schools
You Won't Believe Which Law School Has The Lowest Bar Passage Rate (Psst... You Totally Will!)
Meet the new bottom of the heap, same as the old bottom of the heap. -
Law Schools
Struggling Cooley Law Dumped By Western Michigan University
Talk about a bad breakup. It's not them, Cooley -- it's you. -
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.02.18
* Justice Brett Kavanaugh isn’t the only one who’s relying upon calendars as a defense to sexual misconduct allegations. President Donald Trump says he’ll turn over portions of his calendars and journal entries to combat allegations that he forcibly kissed Summer Zervos, a former Apprentice contestant. [USA Today]
* Do you support term limits or a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court justices? If yes, then a majority of Americans agree with you. Fix the Court polled 1,000 people, and 78 percent of them said they’d like to restrict the length of service for SCOTUS justices. [The Hill]
* Per a new survey conducted by Diversity Lab and ChIPs called the Inclusion Blueprint, the Biglaw firms with the best policies to build gender equity are Brooks Kushman and Sheppard Mullin. We may have more on this later. [Big Law Business]
* Shocking absolutely no one, now that Cooley Law is magically in “compliance” with the American Bar Association’s accreditation standards, the school has dropped its lawsuit against the ABA. This is terribly convenient, isn’t it? [ABA Journal]
* Ieshia Champs, the 33-year-old single mother of five children whose inspirational graduation photos went viral this past spring, recently found out that she passed the Texas bar exam. Congratulations! All of your hard work paid off! [Fox 10 KSAZ]
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Law Schools
Yet Another Subpar Law School Sues The ABA In 'Accreditation-By-Lawsuit' Strategy
It looks like Kirkland & Ellis is pretty sure the ABA is out of money. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.27.18
* Barbara Jones, a former federal judge who now serves as a partner at Bracewell (a firm where Rudy Giuliani was once a name partner), has been appointed as a special master in Michael Cohen’s case to decide which materials that were seized from his office are protected by attorney-client privilege and which materials can be reviewed by prosecutors. [New York Post]
* This just got really interesting: The anonymous Proskauer partner who is suing the firm in a $50 million gender bias case has come forward and revealed her name. Jane Doe is better known as Connie Bertram, head of the firm’s labor and employment practice in D.C. and co-head of the firm’s whistleblowing and retaliation group. [American Lawyer]
* Veteran Supreme Court advocate Lisa Blatt of Arnold & Porter received a rare honor at the high court earlier this week during oral arguments in Trump v. Hawaii when Justice Stephen Breyer mentioned her as the author of an amicus brief. This almost never happens. Congratulations on a job well done! [National Law Journal]
* The Stanford Law Class of 1998 has the special sauce for producing female deans at top law schools. Kimberly Yuracko of Northwestern, Kerry Abrams of Duke, and Gillian Lester of Columbia all graduated in the same year. [The Recorder]
* Cooley Law School is back in compliance with ABA accreditation standards. Apparently the school is now admitting candidates who appear capable of finishing law school and gaining admission to a state bar (even though recent bar exam pass-rate statistics seem to strongly disagree with that assessment). [ABA Journal]
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Law Schools
The ABA Claps Back Against Cooley Law In Fight Over Admissions Standards
The ABA is trying to 'protect students from investing in an education that does not deliver.' -
Law Schools
Sorry, Cooley Law, But You Can't Hide Vital Information From Prospective Students
It's 2017, not 2007. These kinds of shenanigans don't hold up anymore. -
Law Schools
10 Law Schools Sanctioned By The ABA -- More To Come?
The ABA is going after poorly performing law schools and more may be in the crosshairs. -
Law Schools
Cooley Law School Asks Court To Prevent ABA From Releasing Letter About Its Noncompliance With Accreditation Standard
Apparently the law school is completely unfamiliar with the Streisand effect. -
Law Schools
Collateral Damage: How A Flagging Law School Hurts Community
When a law school loses thousands of students, a whole community suffers. -
Bar Exams, Law Schools
Law School Sees Its 5th Straight Year Of Majority-Fail Results On The July Bar Exam
This is pretty discouraging. -
In-House Counsel
Rankings Aren't Just for Law School: Tier 3 / 'Cooley' Employees
More thoughts from columnist Stephen Williams on how in-house lawyers can deal with underperformers. -
Contests, Law Schools, March Madness
ATL March Madness: The Greatest Law School Scandal Of All Time!
The champion of this year's "Best Law School Scandal" bracket is revealed. -
Law Schools, March Madness
ATL March Madness: Law School Scandal Championship
The final matchup of the season. -
Law Schools, March Madness
ATL March Madness: The Final Four Law School Scandals
The Final Four of Law School Scandals revealed! -
Law Schools
Cooley Law School Brings Us The Dumbest Malfeasance Scandal Ever
There are some serious scandals in the world. Then there's really dumb stuff. -
Law Schools, March Madness
ATL March Madness: The Elite 8 Of Law School Scandals
Some awfully juicy scandals populate the Elite 8 of this tournament. -
Law Schools, March Madness
ATL March Madness: Best Law School Scandal, Pt. 2
The second half of this year's ATL March Madness revealed! -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.18.16
* How low can you go? For the first time in years, enrollment is up at Cooley Law — by three students. That’s the only thing the school will be able to brag about, because the average GPA and LSAT scores of its most recent entering class are the lowest the school has seen in at least a decade. Yikes. [Lansing State Journal]
* President Obama has to make quite the decision when it comes to choosing who will be his next SCOTUS appointment. He already faces an uphill battle, so if he were to pick any these five candidates (even the one who was recently confirmed 97-0), it’d likely make things even harder than they already are. [The Fix / Washington Post]
* “I’ll stay as long as necessary.” Activists from Reclaim Harvard Law are occupying a lounge to create a safe space for minorities, and they plan to remain there indefinitely. Armed with blow-up mattresses and blankets, they mean business. [Harvard Crimson]
* Charlotte Law launched a compliance certificate program, and anyone who can pay can receive training. Since compliance is booming right now, as InfiLaw graduates, they’re better equipped than most for jobs that don’t require a law degree. [Charlotte Observer]
* A New York judge who prosecuted drunk driving cases earlier in her career was arrested for allegedly driving drunk… while on the way to work to handle arraignments. It’s unlikely that she’ll return to the bench any time soon. [Democrat and Chronicle]