Penn State University – Dickinson School of Law

One Less Lawyer in the Presidential Race

By

Rick Santorum

Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) is suspending his presidential campaign. He made the announcement at 2 p.m. in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (nice venue choice there).

For Above the Law purposes, this means that there’s one less lawyer in the presidential contest. Senator Santorum graduated with honors from Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law in 1986, was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar, and practiced for several years at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart (now part of K&L Gates). He left full-time legal practice after being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990.

I must confess that I’m of two minds about Santorum leaving the race….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “One Less Lawyer in the Presidential Race”

43 Comments

Penn State Law Students: Now Might Not Be The Best Time To Be Getting Drunk And Calling People ‘Queer’

By

Being a student at Penn State has to be about as close as you can come to being in a World War I foxhole. Their reputation is just getting bombed from all sides. Right now, kids should just be trying to keep their heads down and ride this out.

But in the PSU Law foxhole, somebody just laid an egg.

Apparently students at Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law have already been banned from a few area hotels for drunken and inappropriate behavior this fall. And now a student is throwing around a slur on the school list-serv.

It’s not happy times in Happy Valley…

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Penn State Law Students: Now Might Not Be The Best Time To Be Getting Drunk And Calling People ‘Queer’”

102 Comments

Under Siege, Penn State Law Still Has to Try to Raise Money

By

It’s hard to step back and take an objective look at what’s happening at Penn State. One man allegedly sexually molests God knows how many children, and it’s horrible, but now the entire university is under suspicion. Under siege. Under indictment in the court of public opinion.

And still, they have to go on. Teachers have to teach, grants have to be funded, and at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law, they still have to try to raise money.

But as Penn State tries to resume normal operations, the administration has to fall over itself trying to prove that they are not a university full of child rapists. They love children! When you think of Penn State, think of child abuse victims.

Wait, no, not in that way….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Under Siege, Penn State Law Still Has to Try to Raise Money”

37 Comments

Law School Fee Waivers: We Won’t Touch Your Children Edition

By

Prospective law students always get excited when they’re offered application fee waivers. Law school application fees can run high, and getting tossed a freebie is a nice way to give your bank account a break. Normally, these kind of fee waivers aren’t that out of the ordinary. Offering application fee waivers is standard practice at most law schools.

But what happens when a law school offers prospective applicants a fee waiver after its undergraduate institution is involved in one of the biggest college sports scandals of all time? Talk about bad timing….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Law School Fee Waivers: We Won’t Touch Your Children Edition”

70 Comments

Career Services to Alumni: ‘For the Love of God, Please Hire Our Graduates’

By

And by 'work,' I mean 'review documents.'

We’ve been talking lately about career services officers who don’t seem to know, or just plain deny, that it’s their job to find jobs for law students. Guess what? You might not like it, but that’s the job that you signed up for. You have to find jobs for these people. We don’t really care how you do it (and you probably don’t, either), but you have to do it.

Apparently one career services official has taken our words of wisdom to heart. At least this guy is trying to find jobs for graduates.

Alas, his efforts made us realize how sad it is when a law school that claims to have a 92% employment rate nine months after graduation literally has to beg its alumni to employ recent graduates….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Career Services to Alumni: ‘For the Love of God, Please Hire Our Graduates’”

65 Comments

Law Schools Head To The Bunker To Avoid New York Times Fallout

By

And now comes the part in our story where law school administrations, stung by the criticism they just received in the New York Times, start spinning. Yes, yesterday the Times exposed the law school business model to a horrified public of non-lawyers. Today, law schools are obligated to say, “No, no, no, that’s not our business model.”

It’s a perfect response. Law students already believe that they are special and will somehow overcome various odds stacked against them, and so they are particularly susceptible to the argument that while other law schools might have problems, the school they picked is the honorable school standing apart from the disreputable actions of others.

It’s like when women say “I have the best husband in the world.” Sure, 90% of husbands hate chick flicks, wish there was a way to get a hot meal without listening to your BS, and would bone Angelina Jolie 30 times in a row before they even remembered your name, but you found the best husband evah! Because you are so damn smart and discerning.

A bunch of law schools have tried to distinguish themselves from New York Law School since this weekend’s article, but the most outstanding example of this kind of distancing comes from: New York Law School….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Law Schools Head To The Bunker To Avoid New York Times Fallout”

197 Comments
Page 2 of 11244123456...11244