Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Legal Ed News
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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…
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Journal of Legal Education Symposium at New York Law School
In case you missed it on AALS LENS: For more than 75 years, the Journal of Legal Education (JLE) has played an essential role in chronicling the development of legal education in the United States. New York Law School (NYLS) hosted a symposium on October 8, 2025, where scholars presented their views on some of…
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Leiter: Will AI Soon Cause a Massive Contraction in Law Schools?
Brian Leiter (Chicago), AI Developer Warns the AI Jobs Apocalypse Is Closer Than We Realize: [A]n excerpt [from Matt Shumer (CEO, Otherside AI), Something Big Is Happening]: [O]n February 5th, two major AI labs released new models on the same day: GPT-5.3 Codex from OpenAI, and Opus 4.6 from Anthropic (the makers of Claude, one…
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Andrew Granato Joins University of Texas Tax Faculty
Andrew Granato (J.D. 2024, Yale; JD-PhD 2026 (Financial Economics), Yale):
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67% Through the Fall 2026 Law School Admissions Season: Applicants Are Up 19% From Last Year (42% From 2024)
We are now 67% of the way through Fall 2026 law school admissions season. The number of law school applicants reported by LSAC is up 18.9% compared to last year at this time. 186 of the 196 law schools are experiencing an increase in applications. Applications are up +30% or more at 91 law schools. Applicants are…
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Magill named EVP and Dean of Georgetown Law
M. Elizabeth Magill, the former dean of Stanford Law School, provost of the University of Virginia and president of the University of Pennsylvania, has been named the executive vice president and dean of Georgetown Law. Magill will begin her role as the school’s 17th dean on Aug. 1, 2026. She succeeds Interim Executive Vice President…
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Fast Track JD/MBA at USC
USC announces first accelerated JD/MBA program on the West Coast. Students can earn both degrees in only three years, and applications are now being accepted for Fall 2026. See press release here. Speed to graduation seems to be taking hold elsewhere as well as the Mass Board of Higher Ed voted this past Tuesday to…
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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…
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Journal of Legal Education Releases Special Issue on Restorative Justice
In case you missed it on AALS LENS: The most recently released issue (73-4) of the Journal of Legal Education is based on a symposium initiated by the National Center on Restorative Justice (NCORJ) at Vermont Law and Graduate School. The issue illuminates how to include restorative justice in law school curricula and institutional offerings. This collection…
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AALS Legal Education News Digest – Week Ending 2/6
In case you missed it on AALS LENS: Since 2015, AALS has kept the legal academy and supporters informed with a weekly Legal Education News Digest and Blogs Digest. These digests track important developments in legal education, the legal profession, and higher education. They also highlight new programs, collaborations between schools, milestones, faculty accomplishments, awards,…
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Sander: The Waning of Racial Preferences at American Law Schools, 2021-2025
Richard Sander (UCLA), The Waning of Racial Preferences at American Law Schools, 2021-2025: Up until now, no one has had much idea of just how, or whether, colleges, universities, and professional schools were complying with the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision prohibiting them from using racial preferences in student admissions. Using an innovative new data source,…
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Volokh: Free Speech and the Arkansas Law Dean Controversy
Following up on the post by Alena Allen (LSU), Arkansas Rescinds Decanal Offer: Eugene Volokh (UCLA; Hoover Institution), Free Speech at the Higher End of the Org Chart: Thoughts on the Arkansas Dean Controversy: From the N.Y. Times (Stephanie Saul) last week: Less than a week after naming a new dean, the University of Arkansas Law School has…
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Forum on ABA Accreditation
Next Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 2:00 p.m. EST The Federalist Society will host a virtual forum on states’ moving away from ABA Accreditation. You can find details and register here. Featured speakers are Prof. Derek T. Muller, Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School Prof. Daniel B. Rodriguez, Harold Washington Professor of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker…
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Law Students do Field Research
Indiana Univ. Professors Bill Henderson and Anjanette Raymond (Kelley School of Business and also Queen Mary University of London) offer important insights based on work they did with the Indiana Supreme Court. They asked law students and undergraduates to observe courtrooms and interview lawyers with the goal of identifying pathways to increased access to legal…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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AALS Legal Education News Digest – Two Weeks Ending 1/30
Since 2015, AALS has kept the legal academy and supporters informed with a weekly Legal Education News Digest and Blogs Digest. These digests track important developments in legal education, the legal profession, and higher education. They also highlight new programs, collaborations between schools, milestones, faculty accomplishments, awards, clinical activities, and special events. Sign up to…
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UC Law San Francisco Name Change Upheld
From the ABA Journal (not paywalled), reporting something spotted at Law.com (paywalled): The California Supreme Court let stand without comment [on January 28] a ruling to rebrand the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, erasing the connection to its founder who has been linked to the massacre of the indigenous Yuki people…
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AALS & West Academic Team Up to Tackle AI in Legal Education
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and West Academic (a BARBRI company) have officially launched a multiyear strategic partnership dedicated to artificial intelligence. Designed to support deans, faculty, staff, and students as they adapt to new technology, this collaboration pairs West Academic’s comprehensive resources with AALS’s 125 years of institutional leadership. The initiative moves…
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Journal of Legal Education Issue Explores Institutional Structures, Pedagogy and Curricular Design
In case you missed it on AALS LENS: Released in Fall 2025, issue (73-3) of the Journal of Legal Education includes articles that examine the relationship between legal pedagogy, curricular design, and the structure of organizations related to legal education and the legal profession. This issue was edited by New York Law School and the University of California, Irvine School of Law and…
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Weinberger: Texas and Florida Make a Smart Move on Legal Education
Washington Post Op-Ed: Texas and Florida Make a Smart Move on Legal Education, by Lael Weinberger (George Mason): The Texas Supreme Court announced this month that the court itself, not the American Bar Association, which has held near monopoly control of American legal education, would decide which law schools qualify graduates for the Texas bar. On [January 15th], Florida followed…
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‘You Are Not Your Grades’: WTF Do Law Professors Mean by That?
LawProfBlawg (Anonymous Professor, Top 100 Law School), ‘You Are Not Your Grades’: WTF Do Professors Mean by That?: I give a speech every semester to my 1Ls, and I know other professors do as well. You are not your grades. I inform my students that they do not need to pass by me in the hall and hang their…
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Open Letter from Minnesota Law Faculty
72 Members of the University of Minnesota Law Faculty have signed an Open Letter expressing horror over federal agents’ killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The letter proclaims our colleagues to be “deeply disturbed by the daily lawlessness and brazen abuses of power by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border…
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New Dean at Northwestern
Zachary Clopton named dean of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. A noted scholar of civil litigation, Professor Clopton has served as interim dean for the past six months and as a member of the Northwestern faculty since 2019. His extraordinary record of accomplishment is detailed here. Congratulations and good luck Dean Clopton.