Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Legal Education
-
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…
-
Tax Prof Moves, 2025-2026
Here is a list of (1) visiting assistant professor hires; (2) entry-level hires; (3) lateral moves; (4) promotions, tenures, chairs, and professorships; (5) administrative appointments: (6) visits; and (7) retirements involving tax professors in 2025–26. (Email taxprofblogeditors [at] pepperdine.edu any omissions. Updates in bold.) Visiting Assistant Professor Hires Entry-Level Hires Lateral Moves Promotions, Tenures, Chairs,…
-
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,…
-
“The 2026 Top Legal Innovators in Academia”
The “National Law Review” has published a list of “The 2026 Top 50 Legal Innovators in Academia,” here. Who is a “legal innovator”? The NLR – and its sponsor, Wickard (“a specialized education and advisory firm operating at the intersection of law, artificial intelligence, ethics, and public policy”) writes: they are “educators, administrators, researchers, and…
-
Department of Education Threatens ABA’s Accreditation of Law Schools
The Trump administration is seeking to strip the American Bar Association’s accreditation council of federal recognition—a move that could disrupt legal education more broadly. See this Inside Higher Ed report. The Department of Education recommended that the ABA Council no longer be recognized as an accrediting agency. Here is the full 86 page staff report,…
-
Law Schools With Biggest Substance Abuse Problems
We all know that law students and lawyers frequently have significant rates of substance abuse. Because AI knows everything, I decided to see what it might tell me. This is what a Copilot search generated: “Law Schools with the Largest Substance Abuse Problems There is no single, publicly available list of law schools with the `largest’ substance…
-
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 &…
-
Toronto Law’s Laptop-Free Classrooms Have an AI Twist—And Some Students Push Back
The University of Toronto’s Jackman Faculty of Law has announced a framework for laptop-free classrooms. The framework is not a blanket ban. Reporting on an e-mail to students elaborates: The framework we have adopted is intended to support students in classes where instructors have chosen to go laptop-free, to set expectations and provide consistency. This…
-
5 time management strategies every 1L needs to succeed in law school
Ashley Heidemann for National Jurist has some pretty good advice for first year law students. Simple but important. Here are her top five time management strategies: 1. Outline throughout the semester. 2. Prepare for class efficiently. 3. Be selective about networking events. 4. Plan backward from major deadlines. 5. Schedule time to take care of…
-
Podcast: What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law
I will be honest. I love to listen to podcasts as background when I am working. Although there are many law professor blogs, there are not nearly as many law professor podcasts. Next week, I will post a list of some of the best general law podcasts. Here is a podcast about constitutional law that…
-
AI Says: Here is the best way for a law professor to begin a class
I love this AI stuff. As the school year begins, I thought about the best way for a law professor to start a law class at the beginning of the school year. Here is what Copilot generated. I thought it was pretty good — and impressively detailed — advice: “The best way for a law…
-
Dean Paul Caron Reappointed Dean of Pepperdine Caruso School of Law
Good news for TaxProf blog emperor Paul Caron: Following a five-year review, dean Paul L. Caron has been reappointed the Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean of Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. The announcement was made on August 20 by Pepperdine University provost Jay Brewster. From the Office of the Provost: I am pleased to announce…
-
Accreditation Council Announces Special Open Session to Vote on Standard 206
Accreditation Council Announces Special Open Session to Vote on Standard 206 CHICAGO, Aug. 21, 2026 – The Accreditation Council will convene for a virtual special open session on Tuesday, Sept. 8, to vote on whether to repeal Standard 206. If the Council votes to repeal in that meeting, the decision will be final, and the repeal will…
-
Book of the Week
Our colleague, Kent Greenfield, Professor of Law at Boston College Law School has penned Secession due out this January from Harper Collins and available for pre-order now. The title is self-explanatory, as Professor Greenfield contends both that secession is a good idea and that it can be accomplished peacefully. This is a very tough sell.…
-
Why Be an Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Mary Algero, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and former Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Academic Affairs at Loyola University, New Orleans College of Law has taken time to provide a thoughtful account of why someone might wish to serve in the role of associate dean for academic affairs and how one might make good…
-
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…
-
Mock Job Talk Scheduling Poll
David Sella-Villa (South Carolina), Mock Job Talk Scheduling Poll Some candidates entering the U.S. legal academic market have a lot of people in their corner: mentors who read their job talk paper, colleagues who sit through practice runs, friends who explain what an appointments committee is really asking. Others go in without any of that.…
-
Florida State College of Law Announces Finalists for Deanship
The names of finalists were released 24 hours prior to on campus interviews: William Magnuson (Texas A&M), Jake Linford (FSU), and Jeffrey Manns (GW).
-
Teaching Tidbit of the Week: (Bad and) Good Advice to Students
A brilliant and very dedicated new colleague asked me what advice he should give students about how they can do well in his class. That question inspired this blog post. My plan is to share four examples of what I regard as bad advice and, for each, suggest why I do not like the advice…
-
Law Grads Settle Class Action Related to California Bar Exam
As reported by Karen Sloan in Reuters: A testing company involved in California’s bungled February 2025 bar exam has reached a preliminary class action settlement with test takers who sued, according to a federal court filing on Monday. Attorneys for the seven plaintiffs did not disclose the terms of the proposed settlement but said they…
-
Most Improved Law Schools for Employment
On the heels of the rankings of the “Top Law Schools for Technology Law,” (see Kevin Johnson’s post last week), the National Jurist recently released their analysis of most improved law schools for employment comparing the employment rates of the Classes of 2012-2014 with the Classes of 2023-2025. For students, one question towers above almost…
-
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…
-
From the Bookshelves: An AI Policy Primer for Students by Matthew Sag
AI for the law masses! An AI Policy Primer for Students by Matthew Sag “This is a policy primer on AI that I wrote for my students at Emory Law, specifically for a course on “Current Topics in the Law and Policy of AI” in 2026, but it may be of general interest. The first…