This Week in Legal Education News

Over the last decade, AALS has kept law school leadership, faculty, and staff informed with its weekly Legal Education News Digest and Blogs Digest. Sign up to receive these digests by email.

To keep law school faculty and staff up to date with the latest legal education news, we collect articles on new programs, collaborations with other schools, faculty accomplishments, awards, clinical activities, and special events. You can share news and updates with the editors of the weekly digest here. With the launch of our online platform LENS, we will be sharing a weekly roundup of legal education news, highlighting the most important stories.

AALS Legal Education News Digest – Week Ending March 28, 2025
AALS Legal Education Blogs Digest – Week Ending March 28, 2025

Here are a few articles of note from the past week:

• 79 law school deans from across the country signed a joint letter condemning the presidential administration for their efforts to sanction law firms and lawyers. The deans express concerns that the government is violating the US Constitution by unfairly punishing legal professionals for representing Trump’s political opponents. (JURISTnews)
• Experts offer causes for the large jump in law school applications for the Fall 2025 admissions season. Potential factors include a presidential transition year, changes to the LSAT exam, and greater emphasis on courts and the rule of law among the general public. (Axios)
• Big 10 Conference law schools have planned a series of panel discussions on the rule of law. The series aims to educate people on the rule of law following unprecedented series of legal actions taken by the federal government in recent months. (PennState)

Dean Moves and Hires

• Jan Jurden named dean of Wilmington University Law. (WDEL) 

Law School Programs and Clinics

• University of North Carolina Law hosts legal clinics to help survivors of Hurricane Helene. (WFMY News)
• University of the Pacific McGeorge Law program teaches college students about legal careers. (University of the Pacific)

Higher Education

• President Trump has signed an executive order aiming to dismantle the US Department of Education without congressional approval. This attempt to dismantle a federal agency will likely lead to lengthy legal battles against the administration. (Wall Street Journal)
• As President Trump plans to dismantle the US Department of Education, he has also stated plans to move student loans to the Small Business Association. This plan has been criticized by education experts who claim the lack of a clear plan could lead to chaos for borrowers. (Inside Higher Ed)
• As a result of massive layoffs at the US Department of Education, remaining employees struggle to fulfill duties. Employees say the sudden cut in workforce has halted essential functions and left remaining employees with impossible workloads. (Inside Higher Ed)