Legal Education News
- The US Department of Education issued a recommendation that the ABA should no longer serve as the national accreditor for law schools. A decision on the ABA’s role as accreditor is still months away and would require additional review. (The Wall Street Journal)
- The ABA Council in charge of law school accreditation has voted to weaken or eliminate several requirements related to diversity. The council advanced plans to repeal a diversity mandate, eliminate required teaching on bias and racism, and rewrite the current nondiscrimination rule. (Reuters)
- Law school applications for this fall are up 10.8% over last year. Many schools are reporting record-high applications with especially high numbers coming from schools in the Northeast and Midwest. (ABA Journal)
- Other legal education stories from the week include:
- ABA council extends test-optional variance for law schools for three years. (Law.com)
- The National Law Review publishes list of top 50 innovators in legal academia. (The National Law Review)
- How law students can build their legal career before graduation. (The National Jurist)
- Sarah J. Williams appointed interim dean of Penn State Law. (Penn State Dickinson Law)
- Duke Law dean Kerry Abrams to step down in June 2027. (Duke University School of Law)
- How early Big Law recruitment is impacting students, schools and law firms. (The Indiana Lawyer)
Higher Education News
- How one university centralized student support to make it more accessible. (Inside Higher Ed)
- A look at the Trump Administration’s plan to overhaul university accreditation. (Inside Higher Ed)
- How universities are adapting to students’ use of AI. (Deseret News)
- University of Chicago bans AI use across courses to encourage independent thinking. (Forbes)
Legal Profession News
- What law firms are missing when training lawyers in AI. (Law.com)
- What young lawyers should know before getting barred in a different state. (Law.com)
- How an increase in law school applications affects the legal profession. (Modern Counsel)
Law School News
- Duke Law Health Justice Clinic wins disability rights hearing for client. (Duke Today)
- Georgia State University Law and FHL Bank Atlanta co-launch Heirs’ Property Law Clinic. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
- A look at the Hofstra Law Edge Ahead Program that prepares law students before they enter their first semester. (Hofstra Law News)
- University of Houston Law Center online LLM classes helps students balance work and school. (American Bar Association)
- University of Memphis Law launches Institute for AI and the Law. (The University of Memphis)
- Pace Law opens call-in center to provide legal advice to the local community. (Westfair Business Journals)
TaxProf Blog
- Increases in Law School Applications by Austen Parrish
- Department of Education Threatens ABA’s Accreditation of Law Schools by Kevin R. Johnson
- Toronto Law’s Laptop-Free Classrooms Have an AI Twist—And Some Students Push Back by Sloan Speck
- 5 time management strategies every 1L needs to succeed in law school by Kevin R. Johnson