Here are a few of the most important news stories you need to know from the past week.
For the last decade, AALS has kept the legal academy and supporters informed with our weekly Legal Education News Digest and Blogs Digest. These digests track important developments in legal education, the legal profession, and higher education on the federal level. They also highlight new programs, collaborations between schools, milestones, faculty accomplishments, awards, clinical activities, and special events. Sign up to receive these digests by email.
Law schools can share news and updates with the editors of the weekly digest here.
AALS Legal Education News Digest – Week Ending October 24, 2025
AALS Legal Education Blogs Digest – Week Ending October 24, 2025
Top stories from the past week include:
- AALS is now the exclusive host of TaxProf Blog after September’s closure of the TypePad platform caused it and many other legal ed blogs to shut down. Led by Pepperdine Law dean Paul Caron, TaxProf Blog has been an essential resource for deans, professors, students and lawyers over the past 20 years. AALS will maintain the full archive of more than 50,000 previous posts and host a new era for the blog with new contributing editors in legal education and tax law. (AALS LENS) (Law.com)
- The National Association for Law Placement released a study on 2024 law graduates which found a 93.4% employment rate for recent graduates, demonstrating that the legal job market has remained strong despite general concerns over unemployment rates and economic downturn. Although graduates are seeing strong employment outcomes, the results also show that racial disparities persist as white graduates are more likely to land a job than their peers. (ABA Journal)
- According to LSAC data, law schools have seen a 32% increase in applicants compared to the same time during last year’s admissions cycle, which itself saw historic highs in applicants. The increase in applicants could be a result of political turmoil and rising unemployment rates, causing many to reconsider their careers. (ABA Journal)
Higher Education
- Seven out of nine universities have refused to sign a compact sent by the Trump administration demanding that they stop using affinity-based admissions or risk losing federal funding. The compact included many demands such as eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion policies, and shrinking foreign student enrollment. So far, University of Arizona, USC, Brown University, Penn, Dartmouth College, MIT and University of Virginia have rejected the deal, and University of Texas at Austin and Vanderbilt University have yet to respond. (PBS)
- The US Chamber of Commerce has sued the White House to block changes to the H-1B visa that would place a $100,000 fee on all new applicants. The lawsuit alleges that the fee is an unlawful expansion of executive authority and violates the Administrative Procedure Act and federal immigration laws. The Chamber has requested that courts block the new fee requirements and pause any activities being done to implement the new policy. (Higher Ed Dive)
- New guidance from the Trump Administration states that recent international college graduates will not be subject to the new $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applicants. It also states that foreign workers who request an amendment, change of status, or extension of stay won’t be subject to the fee. (Bloomberg Law)
Law School Programs, Clinics and Milestones
- Arizona State University Law launches AI and Legal Tech Studio. (Law.com)
- Campbell Law Family Law Litigation Clinic opens its 400th case since its inception. (Campbell University)
- Charleston Law partners with Anytime AI to advance AI integration in legal education. (Yahoo! Finance)
- University of Miami Law Immigration Clinic students lead ‘Know Your Rights’ workshop. (University of Miami School of Law)
- NYU Law launches Environmental and Climate Justice Lab. (Washington Square News)