Prospective Law Students
-
Law Schools
4 More Types of People Who Should Not Go To Law School
In the wake of the latest U.S. News rankings, columnist Shannon Achimalbe lists four (more) types of people who should not go to law school in this day and age. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.23.16
* International Biglaw firms in Brussels are “just trying to soldier on” in the wake of the terror attacks that rocked the city yesterday morning. A White & Case secretary was on the metro train that was bombed, but she managed to escape from the wreckage unscathed. All lawyers and staff members have been accounted for and are alive and well. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* Singer Kesha has appealed the decision of a judge who declined to void her contract with Sony Music, a record label where she claims she’d be forced to work with a producer who allegedly raped her. This time, her lawyer, Mark Geragos, has likened the pop star’s situation to slavery. Hmm… let’s see how well that goes over for her in court. [Reuters]
* “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” For the first time since Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the Supreme Court issued a 4-4 split decision along ideological lines. That very sentence could have a huge impact on some of the high court’s more significant cases for a year or more if Merrick Garland isn’t confirmed. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Professor Melissa Murray of UC Berkeley Law has been tapped to stand in as the school’s interim dean in the wake of Sujit Choudhry’s resignation following the news that he’d been named as a defendant in a sexual harassment suit. Law students chose Murray as their “overwhelming choice” for dean in a poll. [L.A. Now / Los Angeles Times]
* Since the GRE is regarded as an easier test than the LSAT, and at least one school will no longer require it for admission, some pre-law students may be wondering whether they should bother to take the LSAT at all. Don’t be silly. Much like the word “fetch,” the GRE isn’t going to happen. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]
- Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Law Schools, LSAT
The Law Schools With The Highest (And Lowest) LSAT Scores
How did your law school measure up against the schools on this list?
-
Law Schools, LSAT
Law School Lets Prospective Applicants Know They're Nothing More Than An LSAT Score
What an embarrassing mistake. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 03.01.16
* Senior White House adviser Brian Deese has assembled a crack team to help President Obama choose a Supreme Court nominee who will be able to win confirmation before an angry Senate to replace Justice Scalia. Let’s see which way the 2009 Yale Law School graduate steers this important project. [Reuters]
* Australian law firm Slater & Gordon is feeling the pain of being the world’s first publicly traded law firm after a $958.3 million first-half loss. The firm, which is now being referred to as a “corporate catastrophe,” hopes to lay out a restructuring plan in the next few months amid the likelihood of multiple shareholder suits. [Herald Sun]
* Texas State District Judge Julie Kocurek returned to court this week after a shooter opened fire on her in November 2015 in what police are now calling an assassination attempt. She lost a finger during the shooting, but says she feels “very lucky that is all [she] lost.” Welcome back to the bench, Your Honor! [Austin American-Statesman]
* Sorry, FBI, but a judge has ruled that Apple doesn’t have to help the security service unlock an alleged New York drug dealer’s iPhone. This isn’t binding precedent for the tech company’s San Bernardino case, but you can bet your ass its legal team will try to convince the judge handling the order at issue that it should be considered. [NBC News]
* If you’ve been waitlisted at the lowest-ranked law school you applied to this admissions cycle, it doesn’t mean you’ll be rejected from every other school you applied to this admissions cycle — it just means you may have to work a little bit harder on all of your letters of continued interest. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]
* Law firms aren’t the only businesses that go through break-ups; the communications firms that represent these elite firms apparently have rocky relationships, too. Spencer Baretz and Cari Brunelle of Hellerman Baretz Communications have split to found their own firm, and they took the entire HBC team with them when they left. [Business Wire]
-
Law Schools, LSAT
This Law School Will Pay You To Take The GRE To Save Its U.S. News Rank From The Dreaded LSAT
Law schools are desperate to do away with the LSAT. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.27.16
* “Every school has had to make choices, even at the top. This has been upheaval for everyone.” With a significant drop in applicants, the crisis in legal education has reached the members of the T14, the very best law schools in the country. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Another lawyer has filed […]
-
Law Schools
Law School Sends Acceptance Letters To People Who Never Even Applied
Can you guess which law school committed this embarrassing mistake? - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Law Schools, LSAT
How The Grinch Lost The LSAT Exams: A Crappy Christmas Caper
You’re a monster, LSAT Grinch! Which would-be law students will be affected by the missing LSAT answer sheets? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.04.15
* It’s only been two weeks since Charlie Sheen’s HIV reveal, and the lawsuits are already starting to roll in. The actor’s ex-fiancée is suing him for big bucks and claims he failed to disclose his status to her before having unprotected sex, which is a felony in California. [Deadline]
* When you somehow avoid jail time by asserting an improbable “affluenza” defense after killing people in a drunk-driving wreck, it figures that your downfall comes via tweet. Start out your day by checking out the video of “ya boy ethan couch [allegedly] violating probation.” [Dallas Morning News]
* Remember the law prof who was banned from SUNY Buffalo Law’s campus for allegedly violating its workplace violence policy and then sued the former dean for defamation? A judge has recommended that the case be dismissed. [Buffalo News]
* Biglaw attorneys are descending upon the 21st annual Conference of the Parties (COP 21), because after all, they’ll be able to entertain clients with tales about the legalities of renewables to cut greenhouse gas emissions. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* Law school admins are confident the number of applicants will increase, and while fee waivers still abound, pre-law students are expecting the cycle to be “competitive.” A pulse AND the ability to sign loan docs will now be required. [Daily Pennsylvanian]
-
Bar Exams, Law Schools
Bar Exam Failure Rates: The Worst Is Yet to Come
To keep money flowing, many schools dramatically lowered admissions standards beyond any acceptable standard. -
Law Schools, Rankings
Which Law School Has The Best Career Prospects? (2016)
Did your law school or alma mater make the cut? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.21.15
* Arizona Summit Law wasn’t the only law school to post an embarrassing passage rate on the July 2015 administration of the bar exam. Only 28 percent of test-takers from this law school passed, but its dean says that the scores don’t “reflect a problem with the school’s quality.” Hey, whatever helps you get to sleep at night. [Tennessean]
* Speaking of bar passage rates, if you’re applying to law school, should you care about them? Job statistics are probably a more telling measurement when comparing schools, but then again, it’s harder to get a job when you can’t pass the bar exam. [U.S. News]
* “It’s a huge blow to his tenure as DA.” The mistrial in the criminal case against Dewey & LeBoeuf’s former executives is putting a major damper on what was supposed to be Manhattan DA Cy Vance’s crackdown on corporate crime. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]
* Thanks to the Department of Education’s “gainful employment rule,” for-profit law schools could be in trouble when it comes to eligibility for federal student loans under the “debt-to-earnings” test. This certainly may put a crimp in Infilaw’s style. [Huffington Post]
* The vast majority of all class members in the Subway “footlong” lawsuit aren’t likely to see a dime. This is fine because they don’t need to see any “dough,” but a guarantee that the company’s next spokesperson won’t be a child predator would be nice. [WSJ Law Blog]
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
-
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.16.15
* John Stamos of Full House fame was formally charged with driving under the influence earlier this week following his arrest for erratic driving this summer. He faces up to six months in jail if convicted. We have faith that his beautiful hair will survive time in the slammer. [USA Today]
* While the vast majority of the law school lawsuits containing allegations related to deceptive employment statistics have been dismissed, a few are still alive and kicking. The very first one filed — Alaburda v. Thomas Jefferson School of Law — is heading to trial in 2016. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Trick or treat? Per federal prosecutors, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert will plead guilty before Halloween as part of a deal in his ongoing sexual misconduct hush-money case, but whether he’ll serve time is a question that’s yet to be answered. [Reuters]
* Headcount at real estate firms with once-prominent foreclosure practices continues to shrink thanks to the recession’s end. To that effect, two Chicago firms have eliminated hundreds of positions for legal professionals since 2013. [Chicago Business Journal]
* Thanks to a new online system, Northwestern Law will be able to interview prospective students any time, anywhere. The school is the first in the country to offer awkward casting couch sessions as part of its admissions process. [Northwestern University News]
-
Law Schools
4 Types Of People Who Might Be Good Candidates For Law School
Yes, there ARE some people who are good candidates for law school today -- might you be one of them? -
Law Schools
4 Types Of People Who Shouldn't Go To Law School
Columnist Shannon Achimalbe discusses the pros and cons -- mostly cons -- of going to law school today. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.08.15
* FYI, it may be a “nine-week job interview—for both sides,” but summer associates hardly have room to complain when they’re being wined, dined, and paid up to $3,000 per week to work at the Biglaw firms where they landed jobs. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]
* Hot take alert: Per our favorite (and sometimes controversial) blogging jurist, Richard Kopf of the District of Nebraska, “Senator Ted Cruz is not fit to be President” because he wants to allow voters to boot SCOTUS justices. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Maria Mitousis, the divorce lawyer who was seriously injured after a bomb allegedly mailed to her by a client’s ex-husband exploded in her office, says she’ll be back to work ASAP. Her hand got blown off and she still wants to bill. What’s your excuse? [CBC News]
* Former Galveston County (Texas) Court-at-Law Judge Christopher Dupuy was recently arrested and charged with two counts of online harassment after he allegedly created sex ads featuring his exes. He sounds like a real winner, y’all. [Crimesider / CBS News]
* This prospective law student got a 173 on the LSAT and wants to know whether it would be advisable to retake the exam. Are you actually kidding me with this? You’ll get in almost anywhere with a 173 and a pulse. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]
-
Law Schools
A Reading List For 0Ls To Ruin Your Summer Vacation
A law professor comes up with some homework for enterprising 0Ls. Get started on Gunner Academy! -
Law Schools, Rankings
Bloomberg's 'The 10 Most Underrated Law Schools' Is A Terribly Stupid List
Perhaps the most irresponsible advice for undergraduates ever. -
Law Schools, Law Students
Stats Of The Week: 0L Shrinkage
A comparison of the number of law school applicants over the last three years.