We have some unfortunate news to report out of Pennsylvania, where a promising young law student died in his apartment earlier this week.
Jonathan Lumpkin, 25, was a first-year student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. He started his studies at the school in 2015, but had just returned from a leave of absence. Students were alerted to his death via school-wide email sent by Dean Ted Ruger and Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum. The cause of his death at this time is unknown. The Daily Pennsylvanian has some additional details:
Jonathan Lumpkin
Before coming to Penn, Lumpkin received a B.A. in history, political science, and philosophy at the University of New Orleans and graduated summa cum laude. He also worked at various law firms before enrolling in law school, and, according to his mother, had dreams of one day becoming a lawyer, the email read.
AI Built for Litigation. Verified by Design.
Grounded in authoritative content and verified at every step, Protégé is the only legal AI tool that delivers work you can trust—without exception.
Lumpkin is the second Penn Law student to die this academic year, following the passing of Justin Hamano, a 3L, in October.
We here at Above the Law would like to extend our condolences to Jonathan Lumpkin’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.
A Penn Law student died in his residence today [Daily Pennsylvanian]
Managing Partners are Navigating the AI Inflection Point.
New executive research from Ari Kaplan explores how law firm leaders are responding to changing client expectations, evolving economics, talent transformation, and AI governance.
Staci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.