Author: Austen Parrish
-
National Jurist: Top Schools for Government Law
PreLaw has released its annual honor roll for “top law schools for government law.” The list included thirteen schools. PreLaw Editors, Top Law Schools for Government Law, The National Jurist, March 18, 2026. You can find the list on the next page.
-
“It’s Got To Stop” – Rising Concerns Over Threats to Judges
Last week, Chief Justice Roberts called out violent threats to Supreme Court justices. As Roberts said, “Personally directed hostility is dangerous, and it’s got to stop.” But the U.S. Supreme Court is only part of it. Judges across the country are noting the dangerous increase in the intensity of threats and violent rhetoric. Reports are…
-
Two Law Schools Receive ABA Council Approval
From the ABA Journal: Two law schools each received the blessing of the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar last month. The High Point University Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law—the new North Carolina school—welcomed its first JD class in August 2024, was granted provisional approval by the council Feb.…
-
AALS Student Writing Competition
The Association of American Law Schools has announced the launch of a nationwide 2026 Student Writing Competition on Professional Independence and the Legal Profession. The competition challenges law students to write an academic paper focused on current issues related to professional independence in the legal profession. Paper topics may address a range of issues raised…
-
AALS Hosting Teach-In Webinar on Professional Independence in the Legal Profession
The Association of American Law Schools will host a new six-part teach-in webinar series—open to students, staff, and faculty at law schools throughout the nation, as well as lawyers, law firms, and others—that will explore the ethical and other issues related to professional independence in the legal profession. Registration is here. The weekly webinar series…
-
NextGen Bar Updates
Several items related to the NextGen Bar Exam have been in the news. This includes announcements from Iowa, the introduction of a new preparation course tailored to the NextGen exam, and more discussion of the future of the California bar exam. More information about the NextGen Bar Exam on the NCBEX Webpage.
-
CLEAR Appoints Members to Accreditation Working Group
As announced yesterday on the National Center on State Courts website, CLEAR Appoints 15 Members to Law School Accreditation Working Group, March 9, 2026. The working group will submit a draft report with findings and recommendations to the CLEAR Committee by December 2026. From the announcement: The Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and Conference of…
-
Law Student Recruitment (Webinar)
The New York City Bar Association is hosting a webinar on “Law Student Recruitment Chaos: Possibilities for Reform?” on Tuesday, March 17, at 6:30-8:30 pm. In recent years, law student recruitment has become increasingly chaotic. Some large firms are making offers to students during their very first semester of school, even before their first grades…
-
Justice & Opportunity Honor Roll (National Jurist)
National Jurist‘s preLaw has a new honor roll for the “more than 35 law schools [that] are expanding access through admissions innovation, program design and community-centered pathways — strengthening justice through opportunity.” The “Justice & Opportunity Honor Roll recognizes law schools for leadership in expanding access to legal education.” As the introduction to the article…
-
AccessLex’s New Directory for Private Lending Options
Building on last week’s post, more coverage on AccessLex Institute’s new “directory of private education loan options to help law students navigate lenders and their loan stipulations.” The AccessLex Private Loan Exchange, a new nonprofit-curated resource, was developed in response to feedback from financial aid administrators, according to a Feb. 26 press release, and it offers information…
-
Opposition to Proposal to Speed Up Process for New ABA Accreditation Standards
From the ABA Journal: Deans at 11 law schools have argued the council for the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar should not approve a proposal that would speed up the process of revising or creating new accreditation standards. Currently, as specified by Rule 55, the ABA is allowed to weigh…
-
National Jurist: Top Law Schools for Social Justice
From The National Jurist website: “As social justice becomes central to legal education, students are learning not just doctrine, but how the law affects real people, real communities and their own career paths:” preLaw examined how social justice is embedded across legal education, from classroom instruction and experiential learning to clinics, centers and career support.…
-
Law Students Performed Significant Pro Bono Legal Work in 2025
From the ABA Journal: More than $178 million of legal services were contributed by the law school class of 2025 via legal clinics, experiential courses, externships and other pro bono activities, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Association of American Law Schools. In December, the survey found that 22,336 law students in the class of 2025…
-
Bloomberg Law: ABA Highlights AI’s Challenges
From Bloomberg Law about how AI has become “an integral part of everyday legal work:” The legal field is no longer just watching artificial intelligence from the sidelines. Eighteen months ago, concerns about AI errors and confidentiality were common, but now AI is changing the profession’s core systems. The American Bar Association’s Task Force on…
-
Law School Rankings Season
The 2026 rankings are starting to appear, including the Times Higher Education, QS World University, and PublicLegal-ILRG’s rankings. As with all rankings, there are limitations, anomalies, and they emphasize or focus on different areas. On the next page, are the top 25 rankings for the Times Higher Education Best Law Schools in the U.S. –…
-
Weekly Digests and Law School Moves and Hires
Just a reminder that recent law school faculty moves and hires can be found as part of the AALS weekly Legal Education News Digest. Also check out the AALS Legal Education Blogs Digest and AALS LENS. AALS has the following information about how to subscribe and how to share news and updates with the editors…
-
NextGen Bar Exam: What’s Changing and How to Prepare
In case you missed it, an overview of the upcoming changes with the NextGen Bar Exam in The National Jurist. The NextGen Bar Exam refines rather than replaces the UBE model. It will continue to test core legal knowledge, while implementing new structures and a stated goal of better integration of analysis and skills. But…
-
Danielle M. Conway on Academic Freedom
AALS has posted Penn State Dickinson Law Dean and 2026 AALS President Danielle M. Conway‘s presidential remarks from the 2026 Annual Meeting in New Orleans. From Dean Conway’s remarks setting out this year’s theme on AALS LENS: I believe a principle upon which we can agree is that academic freedom is oxygen for knowledge work…
-
The Federal Officer Accountability Act (Law Students Call on Congress)
As reported in several places, a student-led coalition has gathered more than 2,600 signatures from law students, legal academics, and law student organizations across 109 law schools calling on Congress to pass the Federal Officer Accountability Act, which would create a legal remedy for violations of the Constitution by federal officers. You can read the letter here.…
-
LSAC Ends Remote Testing Option
As reported earlier today, LSAC has ended the ability to take the LSAT remotely in response to cheating allegations. From Law.com: The Law School Admission Council announced Wednesday that the Law School Admission Test will move to in-center-only testing in response to concerns over widespread cheating on the exam. Starting with the August LSAT, “we…
-
Universities Turn to Lawyer Leaders
From a recent story in Reuters. Three top U.S. universities selected former law school deans as their incoming presidents in recent months — a sign that campuses are seeking out leaders with legal expertise amid a challenging time for higher education. Columbia University on Sunday named Jennifer Mnookin — a former University of California at…
-
Support of Appalachian Law School
Recent coverage on support being provided to Appalachian Law School. From yesterday: The Buchanan County Board of Supervisors plans to fund the Appalachian School of Law to help the school through its financial struggles. On Monday, in a 6-1 vote, the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors agreed to form a committee with representatives from the…
-
Will Utah Gain Third Law School?
As reported in the ABA Journal: The Utah legislature is conducting a feasibility study for establishing the state’s third law school—at the Utah Valley University—according to KSL.com. Currently, the University of Utah and the Brigham Young University offer the state’s only ABA-accredited law schools. Julianne Hill, Will Utah Gain Third Law School? State’s Population Growth Cited as…
-
Lawsuit Against Northwestern Law School Dismissed
The lawsuit again Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alleging anti-white discrimination in faculty hiring has been dismissed. Karen Sloan from Reuters has the details: Northwestern University’s law school has persuaded a federal judge in Chicago to reject claims by a conservative group that the school discriminates against white men in faculty hiring. U.S. District…
-
Update on the California Bar Exam
Lots of coverage from last week’s meeting on the future of the California Bar Exam. From the ABA Journal: With a decision deadline nearing in the wake of the flopped launch of its proprietary bar exam last year, California leaders on Friday chose not one but two options to explore as it prepares for the July 2028…