US Department of Education renews ABA as law school accreditor
ABA JOURNAL — The ABA was approved for renewal of recognition as the accreditor of law schools, the U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday. The recognition is for five years. The council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has served that role since 1952, according to the section’s Standards and…
Read More about US Department of Education renews ABA as law school accreditorUniversity of Arkansas Law dean emerita Cynthia Nance honored for distinguished service
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS NEWS — Cynthia Nance, dean emerita and the Nathan G. Gordon Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law, has received the Richard S. Arnold Award for Distinguished Service in the Western District of Arkansas by the Eighth Circuit Bar Association. The award was presented at the Eighth Circuit…
Read More about University of Arkansas Law dean emerita Cynthia Nance honored for distinguished serviceLaw students report concerns about food insecurity and eviction during the pandemic
ABA JOURNAL — Out of 13,000 law students who participated in the annual Law School Survey of Student Engagement, 95% reported the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with their ability to concentrate, 43% had increased concerns about having enough food and 29% feared eviction and housing loss. The report, released Thursday, is titled The Covid Crisis in Legal Education.…
Read More about Law students report concerns about food insecurity and eviction during the pandemicFollowing repeat problems with remote bar exam, California releases investigation findings
ABA JOURNAL — Out of more than 7,000 people who took the July 2021 California bar exam, about 31% experienced software issues. But those problems didn’t result in losses of testing time, the State Bar of California announced Monday. According to a news release, 2% of examinees lost testing time because of software issues. The agency is…
Read More about Following repeat problems with remote bar exam, California releases investigation findingsAdvice for prospective law students on choosing a hybrid JD program
WTOP NEWS — In September, the American Bar Association, the professional organization that sets legal education standards, approved a fully online J.D. program for the first time. The new four-year program, at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas, will begin next year with a class of 25. Advocates of more flexible legal education…
Read More about Advice for prospective law students on choosing a hybrid JD programUniversity of Alabama student Kody George publishes article on laws governing water in space
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION — In the past year, we’ve seen proliferating private space enterprises, new agreements on how states and private companies could use space resources, three different countries announcing plans to set up Moon colonies, and new data confirming that frozen water is present on the Moon. A basic framework for space law governing water…
Read More about University of Alabama student Kody George publishes article on laws governing water in spaceTwo University of Miami Law students awarded Cuban American Bar Association Foundation scholarships
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF LAW — To the late and much celebrated Cuban poet José Martí, “el talento es un don que trae consigo la obligación de servir a las demás personas, y no a nosotros mismos—talent is a gift that brings with it the obligation to serve other people, and not ourselves.” While Martí may no…
Read More about Two University of Miami Law students awarded Cuban American Bar Association Foundation scholarshipsABA lauds Public Service Loan Forgiveness changes and urges Congress to pass additional reforms
ABA JOURNAL — People with jobs that qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program can now get credits from previously ineligible loan plans, the U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday. Under the new guidelines, loans such as the Federal Family Education Loan Program and the Perkins Loan Program are now eligible for PSLF, according to a…
Read More about ABA lauds Public Service Loan Forgiveness changes and urges Congress to pass additional reformsNew report recommends additional evaluation of the GRE’s ability to predict law student success
REUTERS — The arm of the American Bar Association that accredits law schools shouldn’t put the Graduate Record Examination on equal footing with the Law School Admission Test without more data on how it predicts first-year grades, according to a new report by researchers the ABA tasked with evaluating the GRE’s promise. The ABA’s Section of Legal…
Read More about New report recommends additional evaluation of the GRE’s ability to predict law student successLawyer Derek Bolka reflects on ABA internship for law students with disabilities
ABA JOURNAL — Lawyer Derek Bolka credits an American Bar Association internship for kick-starting his career at Accenture, an information technology services company, where he is now an inaugural fellow of a legal program for lawyers with disabilities. Bolka, 37, was attending the Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology when he applied to…
Read More about Lawyer Derek Bolka reflects on ABA internship for law students with disabilities