Law firm Steptoe & Johnson launches pre-law fellowship to improve pipeline to the legal profession
REUTERS — Steptoe & Johnson is the latest law firm to expand its diversity efforts to target aspiring lawyers before they ever set foot on a law school campus. The firm’s new Steptoe Pre-Law Fellowship, launched this month, brings on three recent college graduates with an interest in law as full-time employees for two years, letting them…
Read More about Law firm Steptoe & Johnson launches pre-law fellowship to improve pipeline to the legal professionCalifornia Western Law establishes unitary tenure track policy for faculty
CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW — The California Western School of Law is pleased to announce that the faculty and Board of Trustees have voted to adopt a unitary tenure track. This change to the institution’s Faculty Bylaws creates opportunities for its clinical, Legal Skills, and other skills professors who were hired as full-time faculty to…
Read More about California Western Law establishes unitary tenure track policy for facultyOpinion: Law school enrollment growth will test the legal job market
ABOVE THE LAW — It is a hot time to be a lawyer with a little experience (at least if you have the right kind of experience). Salaries are up, and top firms are enticing laterals with perks that would have sounded comedic 10 years ago, including huge signing bonuses and indefinite work-from-home.
Read More about Opinion: Law school enrollment growth will test the legal job marketOpinion: William and Mary Law dean A. Benjamin Spencer encourages bar exam reforms, not elimination
BLOOMBERG LAW — Calls for eliminating bar exams to improve fairness and diversity in the legal profession are increasing, but A. Benjamin Spencer, dean of William & Mary Law School, argues that eliminating them is not the answer. They should be transformed into a more effective gauge of professional readiness, which, he contends, can be achieved…
Read More about Opinion: William and Mary Law dean A. Benjamin Spencer encourages bar exam reforms, not eliminationPodcast: Willamette Law dean Brian Gallini discusses alternative licensing for law school graduates
BLOOMBERG LAW — Several states opted to temporarily suspend their bar exams when the pandemic broke out last year. This led many in the legal community to question why the exam exists in the first place.Now at least one state is seriously considering alternative ways to certify new law school grads. The Oregon Supreme Court is…
Read More about Podcast: Willamette Law dean Brian Gallini discusses alternative licensing for law school graduatesABA honors Northwestern Law professor Joyce Hughes and Stanford Law professor Pamela Karlan with Margaret Brent Awards
ABA JOURNAL — The commission established the annual awards in 1991 to recognize and celebrate female lawyers who have achieved professional excellence within their specialty and helped pave the way for other women. It is named for Margaret Brent, who arrived in the colonies in 1638 and is recognized as the first female lawyer in North…
Read More about ABA honors Northwestern Law professor Joyce Hughes and Stanford Law professor Pamela Karlan with Margaret Brent AwardsArizona State University Law Post-Conviction Clinic receives state funding to assist with the expungement of marijuana offenses
ASU NEWS — When Arizona voters approved Proposition 207 last fall legalizing recreational marijuana, a provision in the law allowed expungement of marijuana offenses from criminal records. This fall, Arizona State University’s Post-Conviction Clinic in the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law will begin assisting eligible people to expunge those convictions. The clinic will partner with the Arizona Justice Project…
Read More about Arizona State University Law Post-Conviction Clinic receives state funding to assist with the expungement of marijuana offensesArizona State University Law dean Douglas Sylvester steps down after 10 years
NATIONAL JURIST — Sylvester joined ASU in 2002 as an associate professor, then quickly rose through the ranks to become a full professor, then associate dean for faculty research and development in 2008 before being appointed dean. He ended up being one the longest-tenured deans in the history of the school and helped transform it in…
Read More about Arizona State University Law dean Douglas Sylvester steps down after 10 yearsUniversity of Arkansas Law professor Cynthia Nance named chair of the American Bar Foundation Fellows
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS LAW — Cynthia Nance, dean emerita and the Nathan G. Gordon Professor of Law at the U of A School of Law, has been named chair of the American Bar Foundation Fellows. She, along with ABF board president and executive director, will also accept a $3.49 million grant presented by American Bar Endowment…
Read More about University of Arkansas Law professor Cynthia Nance named chair of the American Bar Foundation FellowsCase Western Reserve Law co-dean Michael Scharf honored by International Bar Association
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW — At the closing ceremony of the competition on June 26, Mark Ellis, executive director of the IBA, presented Dean Scharf with a special leadership award for his “extraordinary work with the IBA International Criminal Court Moot Court competition.” Ellis lauded Scharf for his creativity, energy, and expertise in…
Read More about Case Western Reserve Law co-dean Michael Scharf honored by International Bar Association