Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Legal Ed News
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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.
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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
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Columbia Board of Trustees Announces Jennifer L. Mnookin as the University’s Next President
Dr. Mnookin is a legal scholar who served as the dean of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law before arriving at Wisconsin to lead its flagship state university in 2022.The official press release can be found here.
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48 Hours in the Life of Paul Clement
48 hours in the life of famed Supreme Court litigator Paul Clement
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NY Times: Interest in Law School Is Surging. Federal Student Loan Changes and AI Make the Payoff Less Certain.
The number of applicants has risen more than 40 percent over the last two years, despite new limits on student loans and uncertainty over how artificial intelligence will affect legal work.
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Self-Care for Law Professors –“Care Corner” (A Series): REST!
One of my fellow bloggers on the ImmigrationProf blog, Kit Johnson, has started a regular feature called “Care Center” for self-care for immigration law professors. It is hard to think of many more stressful areas of law today than immigration law. I get stressed out from just keeping up with current developments. See, e.g., here.
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ALI Elects Wallace Jefferson President
The American Law Institute announces that Wallace B. Jefferson, former Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court has been elected its new President. President-elect Jefferson served on the Court from 2001-2013, and as Chief Justice from 2004 until the end of his tenure. He will assume office at the end of ALI’s annual meeting, succeeding,
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Principles for Lawyer Independence
Retired Judges Shira A. Scheindlin and John Jones III are leading an effort to develop principles to secure the independence of the legal profession from outside sources, especially from governmental pressure They seek endorsement from lawyers across the land. You can find the principles HERE. They explain their efforts in today’s NYTimes.
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1L Realities
JD Next issues an extensive White Paper based on nationwide survey of law students who completed their first semester in December 2025. Demographic analysis, gaps between student expectations and reality, and practical advice for law students are just a few of the nuggets within.
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Loss of a Legend
Barbara Aronstein Black, the first woman to lead an Ivy League Law School has died at 92. Her career, briefly detailed in this NYTimes obituary below, is a story of resilience, talent and perspicacity. Her admiring colleagues, devoted students and legal education generally have lost a leader. May her memory be blessed and her pathbreaking
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Nova Announces Law Dean
Olympia Duhart has been appointed Dean of Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law. Professor Duhart previously served as Interim Dean.
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Muller: Impact of the Law School Applicant Surge on Discount Rates, Class Sizes, and 50th & 25th Percentile LSATs & UGPAs
Derek Muller analyzes the impact of the surge in law school applicants on discount rates, class sizes, median & 25th percentile LSATs & UGPAs on all 197 law schools
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Death of Tax Prof Stephen Utz (UConn)
UConn Today, In Memoriam: UConn Law Professor Emeritus Stephen Utz: Stephen Utz, Roger Sherman Professor of Law Emeritus at the UConn School of Law and a beloved teacher and scholar, passed away peacefully on December 9 after a long illness. His nearly 40-year career at the law school left an enduring mark on generations of students and faculty,