Michael Schill

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.16.15

* At least a dozen professors from UT Law have had their identities stolen, and they only found out about it after their tax returns were rejected. As it turns out, the data thief had already filed their returns for them. Law profs' tax refund checks must be tasty. [American-Statesman] * If you've been wondering what kind of salary it'd take to woo away the dean of one of the top law schools in the nation to become your university's president, wonder no more. The answer is $660K per year. Way to go, Dean Schill! Play on, playa. [Register-Guard] * If you thought the list of the legal profession's luminaries was looking like a giant sausage party, then you should check out this new ranking of the "most accomplished female attorneys working in the legal profession today." [National Law Journal] * Biglaw, bigger egos? Law firm managing partners aren't feeling as confident as they once were about economic and legal industry growth, but they're totally jazzed about their own firms' potential for revenue growth and the demand for their services. [Am Law Daily] * Another law school makes big changes thanks to legal academia's rocky road: Loyola Law in L.A. is planning a 25% enrollment cut and is taking $20 million from its university's endowment to entice students to attend with fat scholarships. [Los Angeles Loyolan]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.15.15

* Sorry, Chicago Law, but it looks like you're going to lose your dean. Michael Schill, the school's departing dean, will leave to assume the presidency at the University of Oregon. It's an upgrade for UO, and a potential downgrade for UChiLaw. Yikes... [Willamette Week] * FYI, D.C. Circuit litigants, you really need to “avoid using acronyms that are not widely known." This is your second warning, your colleagues have already been benchslapped for this behavior, and the clerk's office literally can't even anymore. [National Law Journal] * After six months spent completing a domestic violence program, the battery charge against Judge Mark Fuller has been dropped and expunged from his record. Whether he'll be allowed to keep his job on the federal bench is another story entirely. [Reuters] * Your law school application is a great place to explain why your undergraduate GPA is so damn low, because at this point in the process, the law school of your choice may be happy that you actually have a pulse. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report] * Theo Shaw, a member of the "Jena Six" who had to spend 7 months in jail because he couldn't afford bail for his alleged participation in a gang-beating, is going to law school on a full ride. He's "profoundly grateful" to Washington Law. Congrats! [Business Insider]

By Staci Zaretsky
Law Professors

Stop Reusing Your Old Exams, You LAZY Law School Professors!

How hard is it to write an exam for a course you've taught all semester? On a scale of one to ten -- ten involving programing a rocket ship, one somewhere around putting on pants in the morning -- where does formulating a law school exam rate? A two? During this finals period alone, we've got students from three law schools, including two law schools in the top ten, alleging that their professors couldn't be bothered to come up with fresh exams for this year's students....

By Elie Mystal
Job Searches

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?

By David Lat
Holidays and Seasons

For Students at Top Chicago Area Law Schools, It’s All About the Pie

It's almost Thanksgiving, an entire American holiday centered around gluttony and based upon the kindness of people we later tried to exterminate. And football. And pie. Lots of pie. Now, normally pie is an unqualified good (unless you are on a diet, which I never am). It's hard to see how this all-American treat could be overcomplicated. But leave it to a group of law students to ruin pie....

By Elie Mystal
Education / Schools

Law School Grading Controversies: Open Thread

We have a message for law school deans and administrators everywhere. To paraphrase Chris Crocker, “Leave… the grades… alone!” Stories about changes to law school grading schemes aren’t much fun for us to write. But every time you deans tinker ever so slightly with your law school’s curve, we here at Above the Law get […]

By David Lat