Recent Headlines from Above the Law
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Law Schools
Going To These Law Schools Is Pretty Much Never A Good Idea
New DOE debt figures confirm that some schools are a rotten deal. -
Law Schools
Struggling Law School Will Officially Lose Accreditation
At last, the ABA pounded the final nail into the Thomas Jefferson School of Law's coffin. -
Law Schools
What Would Thomas Jefferson Losing Its ABA Accreditation Mean For Students?
The embattled law school says current enrollees could still take bar exams outside of California. -
Law Schools
Feds Take Laxer Approach To Thomas Jefferson School Of Law Than ABA
DeVos’s education department relieved the school from a letter of credit requirement earlier this year. -
Law Schools
ABA Revokes Yet Another Abysmal Law School’s Accreditation
This decision has been a long time coming. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.27.18
* So much for that plea deal! Mueller’s office says it’s caught Manafort in multiple lies since ostensibly reaching an agreement. I’m sure we’ll soon hear how this is all a “perjury trap” too. [Huffington Post]
* James Ray III says he shot his girlfriend in self-defense. Sure. [NJ.com]
* Hong Kong aims to be Asia’s arbitration hub and its neighbors aren’t giving up that title easily. [International]
* There’s apparently a DB Cooper convention. Amazing. [Courthouse News Service]
* The Thomas Jefferson School of Law still trying to keep its head above water. [Voice of San Diego]
*Meanwhile, the Florida legislature is looking to clear the obstacles to renaming FSU’s law school. [Florida Politics]
* Boies Schiller attempting to chase down deadbeat real estate magnate who stiffed the firm on million-dollar fees. The media keeps calling him a “Chinese dissident” which is technically true, but obscures the whole “fabulously wealthy” part. [Law360]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.24.18
* As she steps away from public life in the wake of her dementia diagnosis, rather than banish retired Justice Anthony Kennedy to the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor bequeathed her chambers to him. The Supreme Court will miss her. [National Law Journal]
* Judges say the darndest things: Bill Cosby’s bid to get a new trial and reduce his sentence was summarily turned down by Judge Steven O’Neill, who noted in a simple, one-page ruling that “no hearing or argument is required on the issues.” [NBC News]
* Desmarais, the elite IP litigation boutique that recently raised salaries for first-year associates to $210,000, will be making its “first and probably [] last expansion,” opening a West Coast office in San Francisco to serve its Bay Area clients. [Law360]
* In case you missed it, the State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners awarded Thomas Jefferson School of Law with state accreditation after an 8-7 vote, with one committee member abstaining. Now its graduates will be able to sit for the California bar exam even if the ABA revokes its accreditation. [ABA Journal]
* If you’ve been wondering what killed the Middle Tennessee State University / Valparaiso Law School deal, one member of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission says it had to do with “genuine concern about the labor supply and demand for lawyers” — and that seems entirely reasonable. [Murfreesboro Post]
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Law Schools
Struggling Law School Will Not Accept New Students This Spring
Will more law schools stop enrolling students (or even close) in Thomas Jefferson’s wake? -
Law Schools
Afraid It Will Lose ABA Accreditation, Law School Applies For Alternate Accreditation So Grads Can Take Bar Exam
They'd like you to believe this about the school's students and graduates -- not the money its investors will lose if the school can no longer operate. -
Law Schools
Struggling Law School's New Dean Calls It Quits After About A Year On The Job
Make like a rat and flee that sinking ship -- or whatever zoological-based analogy for 'running like hell' you prefer. -
Law Schools
Troubled Law School Asks For Charitable Donations Through Amazon Prime Day Purchases
With so many to choose from, which beleaguered school could it be? -
Law Schools
Law School On Probation To Close Campus, Move To Office Building
What's a law school that's struggling financially to do? -
Law Schools
Law School On Probation Is Reportedly Struggling Financially, Conducting Layoffs
Do you know what's going on behind closed doors at Thomas Jefferson School of Law? -
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
ABA Finally Puts Law School Poster Child For Piss-Poor Bar Pass And Employment Rates On Probation
What does this mean for the future of the law school? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.18.16
* Some Biglaw firms, like Orrick, are now going to help young associates by making monthly contributions to their student loan payments. At $100 a month for 18 months, it’s not a very large contribution, but it’s something. We’ll have more on this debt repayment plan later. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Uh-oh… If you thought law firms were going to be alright in Brexit’s wake, you may want to think again. Berwin Leighton Palmer — a firm that almost merged with Greenberg Traurig — has frozen raises and bonuses until November, citing “political and financial uncertainty in the UK.” [Reuters]
* As part of Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s study-abroad program, Justice Clarence Thomas (who was filling in for the late Justice Antonin Scalia) was in Nice, France, last week teaching students about constitutional law. He left the city before the deadly terror attack during the Bastille Day parade. No law students were hurt. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Prior to accepting his position as Donald Trump’s running mate on the Republican ticket, and even prior to becoming the governor of Indiana, Mike Pence had a very short-lived career as a lawyer at a small firm. He worked there for only two years before deciding to pursue a career in politics and radio programming. [Big Law Business]
* “Our clients have been under siege the last eight years by the federal government in terms of policies toward corporate America.” Cleveland firms like Jones Day and Squire Patton are pulling out all the stops to host ritzy, invitation-only, business-oriented panel discussions during the Republican National Convention. [Crain’s Cleveland Business]
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Career Center, Career Files, Law Schools, Law Students, Pre-Law, Student Loans
Stats of the Week: Law Schools With The Worst Salary-To-Debt Ratios
You better hope your law school isn't on this list. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.01.16
* According to a statement released by the RIAA, hundreds of musicians and songwriters — like Katy Perry, for example — have called on Congress to reform the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Safe-harbor clauses are absolutely killing the artists’ bottom line, and something must be done. [THR, ESQ. / Hollywood Reporter]
* “[M]any law firms have had breaches, which they’ve kept quiet.” Following the news that Cravath and Weil Gotshal had been victims of data breaches, Edelson, a plaintiff’s side firm, announced it would be filing class-action suits against 15 major Biglaw firms with cybersecurity problems. We can’t wait to find out which ones will be on the receiving end of these complaints. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* Being the world’s first publicly traded law firm has turned out to be quite the debacle for Slater & Gordon. First, the Australian firm announced market losses of about $740 million, citing “underperformance in U.K. operations,” and now its general counsel has decided to throw in the towel after only two months on the job. Ouch. [Am Law Daily]
* “I have lost my faith in the potential for the Law School or its curriculum to put out people who care deeply about things.” Members of Harassment/Assault Law-School Team, a student group that advocates for sexual assault victims, aren’t impressed with Harvard Law’s inaction on educating students about sexual assault. [Harvard Crimson]
* How can we guarantee educators are being honest about graduates’ job prospects? Based on the results of the Corinthian Colleges fiasco and the Alaburda v. TJSL trial, it seems like “[s]trict disclosure rules for all schools would be better than lawsuits and government aid as a way to ensure educator honesty.” [DealBook / New York Times]
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Law Schools, Trials
The Anna Alaburda Aftermath: The Self-Righteous Celebration And Thomas Jefferson School Of Law's Empty Victory
While TJSL won the battle in court, they lost the war. -
Law Schools, Trials
Thomas Jefferson Law's Attorney Defends The School In An Interesting Way That's Sure To Piss Off Donald Trump
You've just made Donald Trump very, very angry.