Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Legal Ed News
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Not So Practice-Ready
Washington University Professor Robert Kuehn shares via SSRN his work in the Clinical Legal Association Newsletter reporting on the results of a recent 2024-25 survey of 4,000 judges and 4,400 practicing attorneys undertaken by the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform. Roughly half believe that law schools still are not preparing students adequately for
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Full-Time JD Study in Charlotte
Following its merger with Queens University, Elon University plans to bring full time law school back to Charlotte, currently the largest major U.S. city without such a program. See details here.
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Student Groups ask ABA Council to Review Recruiting Timelines
More coverage related to the dramatic changes in law student recruitment timelines. Julianne Hill, 18 Law Student Groups Ask ABA Legal Ed Council to Protest Recruiting Timelines, ABA Journal, January 7, 2026. Leaders of 18 student organizations from top law schools wrote the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the
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Why States Shouldn’t Abandon National Law School Accreditation
Last week, Kellye Testy and I wrote an op-ed for The National Law Review. In the op-ed, we explain why the fracturing of national accreditation would not be in the public’s interest, and would be problematic for states, law schools, law students, and the profession. [P]iecemeal or overlapping regulation would raise costs for law schools,
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The 25 Most Influential People in Legal Education (2026)
The 25 Most Influential People in Legal Education (2026), based on a survey of law school deans
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July 2025 California Bar Exam Results
The California State Bar has released school-by-school data on the July 2025 California bar exam. Here are the results for first time test takers for the 18 California ABA-accredited law schools, along with each school’s U.S. News ranking (California and overall)
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2026 Preview for Law Schools
Karen Sloan has a nice overview story for Reuters outlining some of the changes and pressures facing law schools in the new year. Find it here . Of particular interest is Santa Clara’s decision to award $16,000 scholarships to students to bring them all below the $50,000 cap that the Trump Administration has imposed on
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50% Through the Fall 2026 Law School Admissions Season: Applicants Are Up 20% From Last Year (49% From 2024)
50% through the fall 2026 law school admissions season, applicants are up 20% from last year (49% from 2024)
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Law Firms and Private Equity Overseas
Law.com has done it again with an insightful recap of several powerful moves by private equity players to invest in small and mid-sized law firms outside the U.S. eventually, perhaps, paving the way for financial investors to capture Big Law. Law schools ignore these changes at our peril. Check the story out here: https://www.law.com/2025/12/31/5-private-equity-plays-that-are-rewiring-international-law-firm-financing/?kw=5+Private+Equity+Plays+That+Are+Rewiring+International+Law+Firm+Financing&utm_source=email&utm_medium=enl&utm_campaign=newsroomupdate&utm_content=20251231&utm_term=law&oly_enc_id=6899F7393967D1A&slreturn=20251231103355
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Awards for Patricia Williams
My breathtakingly talented Northeastern colleague, Particia WIlliams, will receive not one, but two awards at this year’s AALS annual meeting. The Section on Minority Groups will present her with its Impact Legacy Award and the Section on Women in Legal Education will justly recognize her, along with NYU’s Peggy Cooper Davis, with its Ruth Bader
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A Dozen Ways That Bar Licensure Could Change in 2026
From the ABA Journal: After a year marked by a disastrous attempt by California to launch its own bar exam and a call from the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform to change law licensure requirements, 2026 could deliver even more changes. The ABA Journal spoke with several bar exam experts; these are 12 of their predictions
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2026 Deborah L. Rhode Award
Joanna Grossman, Ellen K. Solender Endowed Chair in Women and the Law, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Professor of Law at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, and Kimberly Mutcherson, Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School, have been recognized with the 2026 Deborah L. Rhode Award. This award honors the contributions, service, and
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ABA Legal Ed Council Appoints 5 Deans and 3 Law Profs To 14-Member Advisory Committee to Review Accreditation Standards
ABA Legal Ed Council appoints five deans and 3 law professors to 14-member advisory committee to review law school accreditation standards
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Will AI End the Billable Hour, Finally?
For at least forty years, the billable hour’s death has been greatly exaggerated. Time-based billing remains the default at firms of all stripes and sizes. But as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integral to legal practice, commentators have revived a familiar prognostication: this time, the billable hour surely won’t survive. Some historical context, as well as
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Top 10 best law schools for government work
There are lots of rankings of law schools out there. preLaw Magazine rank the top 10 best law schools for placing graduates in government work.
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Law Schools With the Most to Do For Fun
I think that rankings are fun. Everyone has one. Here is a law school ranking system that is out of the ordinary and — yes — fun. Online Paralegal Programs ranks the top 30 “Law Schools with the Most to Do For Fun.” Here are the top 5. 1. Colorado Law, University of Colorado, Boulder
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How Faith Leaders, Pastors, and Spiritual Faculty Responded to the Brown Mass Shooting
How faith leaders, pastors, and spiritual faculty responded to Brown mass shooting
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Ted Afield Leaves Georgia State For Stetson
Tax professor Ted Afield is leaving Georgia State Law School after 10 years for Stetson Law School
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University of New Hampshire Law Students Slam Hybrid JD Program as Dean Steps Down
Following the announcement of Megan Carpenter stepping down as dean, students and a former faculty member have come forward with multiple complaints about the hybrid J.D. program, which Carpenter was instrumental in launching in 2019
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AI for Legal Education Blog
Want to stay up on developments on artificial intelligence and legal education. University of Houston Law Center Foundation Professor Seth J. Chandler has launched a new blog, AI for Legal Education, as a guide for students, faculty, and alumni navigating AI. Here is the UH press release description of the blog: ” The blog (legaled.ai) directly addresses the
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Chair of ABA Legal Ed Section Council: Accreditation Protects Law Students, Leaves Politics Aside
“The premise of a single, national accreditor isn’t unique to the legal profession. Accreditors for medical, dentistry and pharmaceutical education also apply national standards that help to ensure the quality of education in these important professions.”
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Skadden Fellowships
The Skadden Foundation has announced this year’s 34 recipients of the 2026 Skadden Fellowships. You can find the stunningly impressive group listed and described here: https://www.skaddenfellowships.org Harvard led the way with six students receiving Fellowships. NYU had four. Northeastern had three. Georgetown and Yale each had two. One fellowship was awarded to students from Boston
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Edutopia: The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2025
Youki Terada & Stephen Merrill, The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2025 (December 4, 2025). I have a new love: Edutopia’s (linked above) annual summary of important educational studies. Some explicitly address higher education teaching issues. Some only apply to k-12 education. And some purport to only apply to k-12 education, but their lessons
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First-Year Law School Enrollment Trends
From Christine Charnosky, First-Year Law School Enrollees Increase 13% Since 2023, Law.com, December 15, 2025. From the Law.com article: According to those reports, first-year enrollees increased by 7.9% from 39,689 in 2024 to 42,817 in 2025, as of Dec. 15, while 2024 showed a 4.8% increase in enrollment as compared to 2023. Overall, for the past two years,