Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Legal Ed News
-
Melissa Hoffer Named President at Vermont Law and Graduate School
Vermont Law and Graduate School’s press release announcing President Hoffer’s appointment is here. As the first ever climate chief in Massachusetts and former Acting General Counsel of the EPA under President Biden, President Hoffer is the perfect choice to lead Vermont Law School which has long earned a place as one of the top law…
-
ABA Council Repeals Diversity Standard
From the New York Times; The American Bar Association, the lawyers group that sets standards for the legal profession, eliminated on Tuesday a diversity requirement for law schools after facing pressure from the Trump administration. The bar association said that the diversity requirement could jeopardize its role as an accreditor that oversees nearly 200 juris…
-
Grand Canyon University to Launch ‘Christian Worldview’ Law School in Fall 2027
Baptist News Global, Grand Canyon University Plans ‘Christian Worldview’ Law School: Grand Canyon University is the latest evangelical school to launch a law school, corresponding with increased interest in preparing “Christian worldview” students for legal careers. The Phoenix-based school announced Aug. 16 it plans to open a law school as early as fall 2027, pending approval…
-
New Federal Law Student Loan Limits Did Not Hurt 1L Class Size—Yet
ABA Journal, New Financial Aid Rules Didn’t Hurt Incoming Law Class Size: The much-anticipated crisis brought on by changes in federal regulations regarding financial aid has not manifested—yet. That’s the conclusion of law deans contacted by the ABA Journal as well as officials at the Law School Admission Council and the AccessLex Institute. … Law…
-
July MBE Scores Fall, Portending Declines in July 2026 Bar Exam Pass Rates, Despite Higher LSATs and UGPAs — Are AI and Increased Law School Exam Accommodations to Blame?
Press Release, NCBE Announces National Mean for July 2026 MBE: The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) announced today that the national mean scaled score for the July 2026 Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) was 140.7, a decrease of about 1.7 points compared to the July 2025 mean of 142.4. … 44,472 examinees took the July…
-
Chronicle of Higher Education: Bob Jones and the DEI Tax
Chronicle of Higher Education, The Bob Jones Ruling Eats Its Own Tail: A DEI TAX: Go back to 1983. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Internal Revenue Service could revoke Bob Jones University’s tax exemption because the religious institution’s prohibition on interracial relationships flouted “fundamental public policy” against racial discrimination. The Bob Jones decision was hailed by those who sought racial…
-
Florida International Faculty Balk at Trump Aide Named Interim Law School Dean
Following up on Kevin’s post yesterday: ABA Journal, Florida International University Faculty Raise Red Flags as Trump Aide Moves to Interim Law Dean Post: Faculty at Florida International University are raising red flags regarding the appointment of Daniel Z. Epstein as the interim dean of the law school, who started in the post last month. Epstein,…
-
AccesLex Joins the Blog Party
I missed this announcement that AccessLex had launched its own blog on legal education, with the site’s customary emphasis on finance but containing a host of other stories of interest to our readers. I came across the site this week and noted a host of strong content with an article focused on the important question…
-
Plans for New Arizona Law School
Last week, news indicated that Grand Canyon University is moving forward with plans to open a new law school in Arizona. From the announcement: GCU is moving forward with plans to establish a College of Law that would integrate the Christian worldview throughout its curriculum while emphasizing Constitutional law, free-market principles and the rule of law.…
-
Blackman: AI Freezes The Law Professor’s Scholarly Voice
Josh Blackman (South Texas), AI Freezes The Scholarly Voice: I recently attended a workshop about how law professor are using AI. One professor said that he has trained AI on his writing style by reviewing all of his past publications. Thus, any text generated by the AI will be in the same sort of style…
-
Professors Quit After Texas A&M-Victoria Required Them to be on Campus Monday-Friday 8-5 in Response to Texas Law Restricting Remote Work For Public University Faculty
Inside Higher Education, Faculty Quit as Texas A&M Victoria Requires Them On Campus 5 Days a Week: The new policy, announced in June, is a response to a Texas law restricting remote work for public university faculty. The Texas AAUP says it has prompted chaos and tears. A number of faculty members at Texas A&M…
-
ABA Accreditation Council Extends Test-Optional Admissions Variance by 3 Years
ABA Journal, ABA Legal Ed Council Extends Test-Optional Admissions Variance: Law schools can take three more years to determine whether they want to admit students without taking an admissions test. The council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar voted at its quarterly meeting in Chicago on Friday to extend…
-
From Cradle to Big Law
Financial Times reports briefly on a phenomenon I know we are all seeing. Large law firms are recruiting our students for 2L Summer jobs during 1L Fall before they even have their first set of grades. This is crazy,sure. But it also places an absurd premium on educational pedigree and background over actual performance. Law…
-
Kerry Abrams to Step Down as Dean of Duke Law at end of June 2027
Abrams informed Provost Gallimore at the beginning of June 2026 that she’d step down in June of 2027, after which she will resume her work as a teacher and scholar on the Duke Law faculty. During this academic year, the University will conduct a national search for her successor. Abrams became the James B. Duke…
-
Test-Optional Admissions
An announcement from a recent ABA Council meeting as covered in the ABA Journal. Law schools can take three more years to determine whether they want to admit students without taking an admissions test. The council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar voted at its quarterly meeting in Chicago…
-
UGPA Changes – Announcement from LSAC
A recent announcement from LSAC provides more time for schools and applicants to adjust to LSAC GPA change. From the announcement: Last month, we announced that, effective July 28, 2026, LSAC would no longer include grades from college-level courses completed while a candidate was in high school, often referred to as dual enrollment classes, in…
-
Increases in Law School Applications
Quite a bit of coverage over the increases in law school applications this past year. For a few examples: We’re just starting to see predictions for the coming year. Here’s how the ABA Journal described this past year’s cycle with a link to the LSAC data.: Law school applications are again reaching record high numbers,…
-
WSJ: Trump Administration Attacks ABA’s Power to Accredit Law Schools
Wall Street Journal, Trump Administration Attacks Bar Association’s Power to Accredit Law Schools: The Trump administration is opening a new front in its campaign to remake higher education: threatening the American Bar Association’s power to accredit law schools. On Friday, the Education Department is taking the first step toward removing the ABA’s authority to accredit…
-
IRS Guidance on Race and Admissions in Colleges (and Law Schools) Passes White House Review
Following up on my previous post, Colleges (and Law Schools) Await Looming IRS Guidance on Race and Admissions: Bloomberg Law, IRS Proposal on Race and Admissions Passes White House Review: IRS guidance on the application of fundamental public policy against racial discrimination in schools is one step closer to being released. The White House Monday…
-
UC Law SF Tax Prof Manoj Viswanathan to Serve as Interim Provost and Academic Dean
UC Law SF, Prof. Manoj Viswanathan Will Serve as Interim Provost & Academic Dean in 2027: After more than a decade of teaching, scholarship, and service at UC Law San Francisco, Professor Manoj Viswanathan is preparing to take on one of the College’s most important roles. Starting in January 2027, Viswanathan will serve as interim provost &…
-
Cheers for the NextGen Bar Exam
CUNY’s former dean, Mary Lu Bilek and Marsha Griggs, Professor of Law at Saint Louis University write jointly for Bloomberg News that our profession should not allow the technical failures that arose in the administration of the NextGen Bar Exam in Washington State and elsewhere to distract us from the many ways this new exam…
-
More on the AALS Task Force on Regulation of American Legal Education
Just over a week ago, AALS announced the formation of a National Task Force on the Regulation of American Legal Education. Over the last week there’s been coverage and commentary in several places, including Julianne Hill, Association of American Law Schools Creates New Task Force on Legal Education Regulation, ABA Journal, August 12, 2026; Daniel…
-
Michigan Prevails in Email Access Dispute
From the New York Times (August 14, 2026): A lawsuit against the University of Michigan demanding the emails of a professor who has worked on “climate superfund” laws has been dismissed by a state judge. Conservative groups and the energy industry oppose these laws, which would require oil companies to help cover the mounting costs…
-
Rodriguez: Ambiguities in the Duke Law Admissions Letter
On August 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division issued a formal findings letter accusing Duke University School of Law of intentionally discriminating based on race in its admissions practices (see Kevin Johnson’s post from last week). Daniel Rodriguez has this analysis on his substack, where he identifies problems and ambiguities in the letter. A brief excerpt:…
-
Legendary Professors Inspire the Next Generation of Catholic Academics
National Catholic Register, The Professor Pipeline: Legendary Teachers Continue to Inspire the Next Generation of Catholic Academics: [There is a] long legacy of legendary Christian scholars mentoring their students and inspiring them to follow in their footsteps. Examples from history include St. Albert the Great’s mentorship of St. Thomas Aquinas, or St. Ambrose’s of St.…