Twelve additional law schools have been sued over claims that they misled prospective law students by falsely inflating employment rates, and the primary attorney behind the suits says employment figures for full-time legal jobs are closer to 40 percent, instead of the 68 percent reported by the National Association for Legal Placement.
St. Louis University is moving its law school eight miles from the main campus into the city’s downtown, the school announced.
The 1,100-student school will start the 2012-2013 academic year in the new 260,000-square-foot building.
The building is a gift from Joe and Loretta Scott, and will be named after the couple. Joe Scott is founder and owner of Scott Properties, which owns and manages more than 2 million square feet of office, medical, retail and warehouse space in the St. Louis region.
Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne, Ind. will start construction on a new three-story law school building this spring. The $15 million building will be located on the university’s campus.
When the university first announced it would start a law school in May, it was unsure if it would acquire a building in downtown Fort Wayne or build a new one on campus.
Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law has filed an administrative appeal with the American Bar Association over its denial of accreditation in December. That gives the school until May to correct the issues that led to its denial. But it is unclear whether the school can do so, given that applications will likely drop now that accreditation is in question.
The small Tennessee school, which enrolled its first class in 2009, at first took a more combative approach, filing a federal lawsuit against the ABA.
A new study shows that most law schools are falling short when it comes to full disclosure of employment data. In fact, 28 percent of law schools do not report 2010 employment information on their websites in any form, and an additional 28 percent report data in a way that is misleading.
The study by Law School Transparency, a consumer-oriented non-profit that is run by recent law school graduates, analyzes employment data on all ABA-accredited law school websites.
The University of Texas is embroiled in a controversy over professor compensation and gender equality that has already led to the resignation of the dean and could result in more changes at the public institution.
Larry Sager, who was forced to resign as dean on Dec. 8, was using private donations to lure top professorial talent to the law school. But some faculty felt the money was being distributed unequally between men and women, and some observers question whether the practice was even ethical.
Southwestern Law School is breaking ground on a new state-of-the-art student housing complex that will open in Fall 2013. The law school, located in the Wilshire district of Los Angeles, previously won awards for its restoration of the historic art deco Bullocks building.
The new $20 million building, to be located on the campus, will provide housing for 153 students — or about 40 percent of its entering class. The school expects to achieve a LEED Gold rating.
Indiana University School of Law—Indianapolis is changing its name, in recognition of an alumnus who has given the school its largest donation ever.
Robert H. McKinney, a local attorney, banker and civic leader, has donated $24 million to the public school. With matching funds, the total value of the gift will reach $31.5 million.
The National Jurist is recognizing 63 law schools in five different categories as the best in preparing students for public service, the magazine announced December 5th. The categories are government, prosecutor/public defender, state judicial clerks, Federal clerks and public interest.
“Public service is a broad category and there are law schools that excel in one part, but not in another,” said Jack Crittenden, Editor In Chief of The National Jurist. “It would be unfair and unwise to lump Federal clerkships in with government opportunities.”
Pace Law School is reacting to the tough job market for public interest attorneys by launching a law practice inside its own doors.
Starting in September 2012, a staff made up of recent Pace Law graduates will provide affordable legal services for people and community groups in the Lower Hudson Valley in New York.
The new program, called Pace Community Law Practice, is being created with a $100,000 donation from David Anthony Pope's Generoso Pope Foundation, announced Dean Michelle Simon at an annual Leadership Awards Dinner earlier this month.