David Segal

Let The Law School Class Action Lawsuits Proceed: 5 Defenses That Don’t Work

If any of the remaining law school lawsuits end up in appeal, the motions to dismiss should be denied and the cases be allowed to proceed.

In Defense of Law School: It’s Not the Only Alleged Culprit in Higher Education

This 30-year-old woman has $312,000 in student loans and earns just $60,000 -- and no, she's not a lawyer. What does she do for a living?

Declining LSAT Test Takers Could Spell ‘Death Spiral’ for Bottom Law Schools

On March 19, news came out that the number of people taking the LSAT declined for the second year in a row. Sharply declined. So what’s going to happen to the law schools that exist by the grace of the stupidity of prospective law students?

Non-Sequiturs: 02.07.12

* The fact that this guy got so drunk off of beer pong means he’s probably the best pong competitor who has ever lived. [New York Post] * This is the best document review job ever. I’m not joking. Does $85/hour sound like a joke? You might need to learn Japanese, though. [Constitutional Daily] * […]

Non-Sequiturs: 01.26.12

* Greg Kelly stands accused of an alleged rape that supposedly took place at a “lower Manhattan law firm.” While we wait for the tips machine to fire up, who’s up for kegs and eggs and Good Day New York tomorrow morning? [Gothamist] * Classes in space colony law coming in 3… 2… 1… [Buzzfeed] […]

The ABA Thinks It’s Your Own Fault If You’re Poor and Unemployed

William Robinson, the newly appointed president of the American Bar Association, is taking a stand on the status quo of legal education in our country. But instead calling for reform, Robinson is defending the ABA's role, stating that young lawyers "should have known what they were getting into." Isn't it wonderful to know that the man in charge of the ABA is essentially playing the "blame the victim" card when it comes to debt-saddled and unemployed law school graduates?

Above The Law’s Top Ten Most Popular Stories of 2011

It's hard to believe that another year has passed, but here we are. The weather is turning cold, the Republican presidential contest is heating up, and it's time to review this year's biggest stories on Above the Law. We'll refrain from offering our subjective judgments on the most important stories of the year. Instead, we'll identify the ten biggest stories of the past year as decided by you, our readers....

Revenge Is Best Served… Quickly: ABA DENIES Accreditation To School That Talked To The New York Times

Over the weekend, the New York Times unleashed a feature article about the role of the American Bar Association in keeping the cost of legal education absurdly high. The school profiled in that article was Duncan Law School, which was seeking provisional accreditation from the ABA. The article came out in print on Sunday. Everybody talked about it on Monday. And today, on Tuesday, the ABA denied Duncan its provisional accreditation....

Quote of the Day: Tuition Money Well Spent?

[A] law school could literally burn a huge sum of money and, as long as the flames were meant to teach something to the students — the craziness of the U.S. News algorithm, perhaps? — the school would benefit in the rankings. — New York Times journalist David Segal, responding to a reader’s question in […]

To Stop the ABA, Do We Need to Allow Everybody to Start a Law School?

I’m really enjoying the newfound interest from the New York Times about the state of legal education. Times reporter David Segal seems genuinely interested in recording the growing tragedy of American law schools. Concern from mainstream media is great, but the proposed solutions are a little bit scary. Last month, Segal Slate explored the possibility […]

Morning Docket: 12.19.11

* It’s about freakin’ time. Guess who’s jumped on board the ever popular “blame the ABA” bandwagon? None other than David Segal, the New York Times equivalent of the law school scam blogger. [New York Times] * Newt says that as president, he’d ignore SCOTUS decisions. Raise your hand if you want to elect someone […]

The University of Chicago Law School Offers Detailed Employment Data; Will Other Schools Follow Suit?

Here's an interesting idea: what if law schools just started posting comprehensive, accurate employment data on their websites? On a voluntary basis -- not compelled by politicians, lawsuits, or the American Bar Association? Take a look at what they're now doing at the University of Chicago Law School. Could it perhaps serve as the model for law school reporting of employment data?

Quote of the Day: Law Professors Rule (Literally)

[T]he dislike [for legal academics] is a result of law professors being too much in the world. You see, law professors — and I should disclose here that I am one — very nearly run the world, or at least certain parts of the U.S. government. When you include Justice Anthony Kennedy, who taught nights, […]

Pay to Go to Law School or Get Paid to Quit: You Won’t Be Learning Anything Either Way

How screwed up is legal education these days? One mainstream publication recently published an article suggesting law students should be paid to not go to law school, while the paper of record noted that nobody learns how to be a lawyer in law school anyway. Welcome to law school, the red-headed stepchild of American professional schools....

Law School Accreditation: What Is To Be Done?

Critics of the current legal-education model, including my colleague Elie Mystal, have accused the American Bar Association of failing to uphold sufficiently stringent accreditation standards. ABA-accredited law schools proliferate, even though thousands of law school graduates find themselves unemployed or underemployed. The ABA was recently chided by the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and […]