In case you missed it on AALS LENS, here’s a round-up of legal education news from the previous week.

AALS Legal Education News Digest – Week Ending March 13, 2026
AALS Legal Education Blogs Digest – Week Ending March 13, 2026   

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While many of the stories are also being covered here in daily TaxProf Blog posts, here’s a few highlights:

Top stories from the past week include:

•  First‑time bar passage rates rose more than 1% compared to the previous year, according to new data from the ABA. According to ABA accreditation director Jennifer L. Rosato Perea, the data could reflect an increase in the quality of legal education. (ABA Journal)  
• A new study of the most‑cited recent legal scholarship shows that women hold seven of the top ten spots, more than double the number from last year’s ranking. Researchers credit the shift to the growing presence of women in law schools as they now make up nearly half of full-time US law faculty. (Reuters) 
• UC Berkeley Law has introduced a new course to help first‑year students navigate law firm recruitment as the timeline has shifted to become earlier. The class helped students craft individualized plans outlining goals, mentors, and specialization steps to guide them through the first two years of law school. This course comes as schools have expressed concern that early recruiting efforts don’t allow students proper time to learn about the law before making decisions about their career.  
• Other legal education stories: 
  •  Arizona State University Law dean Stacy Leeds to serve as president of University of Tulsa. (ABA Journal) 

Higher Education

• A group of Democratic state attorneys general have sued the Trump administration over a new policy requiring colleges to provide data proving they are not considering race in admissions. The lawsuit argues that the mandate is rushed, unlawful, and inconsistent with the US Supreme Court ruling that banned affirmative action but allowed students to discuss how race has shaped their lives in admissions materials. They state that the policy imposes unrealistic deadlines and could cause schools to be unjustly punished. (AP News) 
• One year after half the US Education Department staff was laid off, experts say the agency is struggling despite trying to maintain the public appearance of stability. Certain functions like civil rights enforcement, student aid oversight, grant program communication, and borrower‑defense case processing have been slowed or disrupted causing issues in institutions. Experts warned that these changes have weakened federal oversight and could cause long-term issues for students and colleges. (Inside Higher Ed)  
• College leaders warn that student loan gaps will shut out lower-income students from pursuing graduate degrees, greatly impacting universities. They warn that if enrollment declines, the impact will be felt throughout higher education as university enrollment numbers could drop and costs could rise in response. (Politico)  

Law School Programs, Clinics and Milestones

• Gift to Case Western Law to establish Environmental Law Center. (Crain’s Cleveland Business) 
• George Washington Law shares how they’re preparing students to use AI in their careers (GW Law)  
• USC Gould Law launches Master of Data Science and Law. (The National Jurist) 
• Yale Law Media Freedom and Information Access files amicus brief on behalf of Pentagon Press Association. (Yale Law School)