Tuition Cuts

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.09.15

* Charlie Sheen, not one to beat around the bush, got right down to business in a motion to dismiss his ex-fiancée's lawsuit, calling her an “extortionist who gets paid for sex as a prostitute and porn star.” Looks like someone could use some anger management. [Fox News] * If you've been following the circus sideshow that is Donald Trump's presidential campaign, you know that he's proposed a ban on Muslims entering the country. Needless to say, this is likely completely unconstitutional, and many law profs agree on this point. [WSJ Law Blog] * The GC of Allstate says law firm billing rates are way too damn high. Her pet peeve? "[T]he way law firms bill, the hourly rate system, and the fact that rates go up, or at least they try to have them go up year, after year, after year." [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * Everything's bigger in Texas, except for this law school's tuition: Texas A&M Law has announced that it will be lowering its in-state tuition by more than 15 percent, and then freezing it at that level for four years for all entering and current students. [PRNewswire] * If you're a minority who's thinking about applying to law school, there are several important things you ought to take into consideration, including which schools will provide you with a "supportive, nurturing, mentoring environment." [U.S. News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.19.15

* A Connecticut attorney was cited for dropping two ounces of weed on a courtroom floor, and he blames it on his client's son. They were apparently going to stage an embarrassing intervention, but it was the attorney who wound up being embarrassed. [Hartford Courant] * While Charleston School of Law bides its time and attempts to resist a buyout from the InfiLaw System, the school has offered many of its existing faculty members buyouts. We'll have more on this interesting development later today. [Charleston Post & Courier] * Pace Law is going to slash its tuition for incoming students with qualifying GPAs and LSAT scores to match the tuition of the in-state public law school of the student's home state. Sorry, folks, but this tuition "fire sale" is only for new students. [WSJ Law Blog] * Hiscock & Barclay is "dating," "not engaged," and "not even close to to getting married" to Damon Morey. There may not be "anything close to official," but this seems like the very hesitant precursor to an arranged marriage, if I do say so myself. [Buffalo Law Journal] * Per a recent study, the closer your law firm is to your law school, the more likely it is that you'll make partner. In fact, it doesn't even matter if you went to an elite law school -- you're still more likely to make partner if your alma mater is nearby. [New York Times] * Appalachian Law may be a "fourth tier" school, it may be much smaller than it once was, and it may have lowered its admissions standards, but you better believe the little law school that could is going to be just fine. Don't stop believin', Appalachian! [WCYB]

By Staci Zaretsky
Bar Exams

Morning Docket: 10.22.14

* Squire Patton Boggs may be lobbying for Ebola drugs, but Reed Smith has launched a Global Ebola Task Force. Don’t worry, folks, the firm doesn’t want to “sensationalize” the outbreak. [Washingtonian] * Hong Kong is great for lawyers interested in corporate misconduct. “I’ve barely had a weekend off for the last eight months,” says this partner who’s really excited about a not having a life. [Bloomberg] * As we noted, New York is considering adopting the Uniform Bar Exam. Touro Law’s dean thinks the format change could be “jolting” for students, but the head of the NY BOLE doesn’t agree. [WSJ Law Blog] * Wayne State Law is freezing tuition and giving a scholarship to incoming student that’s equal to a 14 percent tuition cut. That’s one way to combat a 13 percent drop in enrollment. [Detroit Free Press] * Whittier Law is one of the “most challenged” when it comes to its graduates’ ability to obtain legal employment. Just one in four students gets to be a lawyer after graduation. [Orange County Register]

By Staci Zaretsky
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By Barbri
Bankruptcy

Morning Docket: 05.08.14

* Footnote fight! Justice Sonia Sotomayor has been clashing with quite a few of her fellow Supreme Court jurists lately, aside from Chief Justice John Roberts. She recently inspired the wrath of Justice RBG herself. [New York Times] * After months of being poked and prodded for cash, 60 former Howrey equity partners have reached clawback deals with bankruptcy trustee Allan Diamond, and it looks like a few of them agreed to pay pretty hefty sums. [Am Law Daily] * Here’s a headline we could’ve told you was coming: “The US lawyer bubble has conclusively popped.” It’s not a terribly good decision to attend now, but if you do, people who can’t pay you need your help. [Quartz] * Cutting law school tuition may be a good idea to attract more students, but in the long run, it could hurt the schools, says Moody’s. Aww, let us shed some tears for those poor law schools. [WSJ Law Blog] * Crim Law prof not guilty of… crime. Stephen Smith of Notre Dame Law was acquitted on a misdemeanor invasion of privacy charge, and the felony battery charge he faced was dismissed. [South Bend Tribune] * The University of Arizona will be the first school in the U.S. to offer a bachelor’s degree in law. The degree is being marketed to people who eventually want to have lots of law-related debt. [National Law Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
8th Circuit

Non-Sequiturs: 04.07.14

* Never text angry. A New York judge just put the kibosh on a man’s suit to secure the return of a $53,000 engagement ring from his jilted would-be wife because he sent an ill-advised angry text. [MyFoxNY] * A German judge allegedly sold thousands of answers to law exams. When authorities closed in, the judge went on the run before being caught with “€30,000 in cash, a loaded pistol and… a 26-year-old Romanian woman.” Who knew bar exam answer keys were the new Blue Sky. [The Local] * Here’s the 50 Most Comfortable Prisons in the World. Hopefully the judge above will land in JVA Fuhlsbuettel Prison. [Arrest Records] * Judge lambasts the Bronx DA’s office after an ADA failed to reveal evidence that would have freed a man held at Rikers Island on bogus rape charges. Unfortunately, this isn’t surprising. [New York Daily News] * Elie says stuff about bullying. [ATL Redline] * “Kosher hot dog case presents a real constitutional pickle.” *Rim shot* [Reuters] * Ever wonder how much it costs to open a solo practice? A new solo practitioner opens his financials. [Associate's Mind] * Don’t call tuition cuts “bold.” [Law School Tuition Bubble] * Here’s a 30 for 30 spoof about the history of gunners. Embedded after the jump… [TaxProf Blog]

By Joe Patrice