IU McKinney drops LSAT requirement for select students
A recent change in ABA rule is expected to spur law schools to start direct admission programs.
American Bar Association
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2015 Law Day celebrates the Magna Carta
This year’s Law Day recognizes the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta and its theme: No one is above the law.
2014 law school grads see slight uptick in employment
National data released by the American Bar Association shows that the Class of 2014 has a slightly larger percentage of its graduates employed in long-term, full-time positions that require bar passage as compared with the Class of 2013.
Indiana Tech Law School slips in first round of accreditation
Indiana Tech Law School has failed to convince the American Bar Association to give provisional accreditation to its program, handing the Fort Wayne school a setback and raising questions about its students’ futures.
Rising cost of legal education sparked creation of ABA task force
At public law schools, the average tuition and fees across the country for in-state residents skyrocketed 123 percent between 2003 and 2013. Private law schools were marginally better, logging an increase of 64 percent, according to a 2014 analysis by Robert Kuehn, professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.
Online database shows convictions bring consequences beyond incarceration
The American Bar Association has completed work on a national database that identifies the legal restrictions and prohibitions that individuals convicted of a crime face in addition to the sentence imposed by the court.
ABA to prosecutors: Don’t give official letterhead to debt collection companies
The American Bar Association released a formal opinion Wednesday warning prosecutors that providing official letterhead to a debt collection company for its use may violate Rules of Professional Conduct.
ABA provides guidance on sale of law practice
The American Bar Association has issued a formal opinion on the sale of a law practice, specifically as it relates to the seller in terms of “practice” and billing matters.
Indiana Tech Law School hurries up and waits for ABA approval
Indiana’s newest law school has entered the long waiting period that comes with the accreditation process.
Deans ready to comply with revised legal education standards
The American Bar Association now requires more hands-on learning and student assessments throughout the course.
Lighter sentences sought for some business crimes
The federal panel that sets sentencing policy eased penalties this year for potentially tens of thousands of nonviolent drug offenders. Now, defense lawyers and prisoner advocates are pushing for similar treatment for a different category of defendants: swindlers, embezzlers, insider traders and other white-collar criminals.
Companies need to draft ‘bring your own device’ policies
While the convenience of handheld, portable computers enables employees to peruse email, communicate with clients and review documents without being tied to the office, the “bring your own device,” or BYOD, trend is creating tensions between how much access an employer can have to the worker-owned device and how much privacy an employee can expect.
ABA releases tool to assess cognitive impairment
To help attorneys who are concerned about the intellectual fitness of another lawyer or judge, the American Bar Association has recently released a cognitive assessment tool. The “Working Paper on Cognitive Impairment and Cognitive Decline” is a questionnaire designed to give attorneys guidance in determining whether a partner or friend is just having a bad month or is suffering from something more serious. It also provides recommendations for talking to a colleague who is exhibiting troublesome behavior.
ABA committee formed to study law school cost and debt
Former Mayor of Detroit Dennis Archer has been appointed to lead a special task force to examine the cost of legal education and the spiraling loan debt of students.
ABA warns against ‘liking’ potential jurors
Lawyers and judges say the opinion on the use of social media is needed.
Indiana Tech begins ABA accreditation proccess
Indiana Tech Law School sent a letter in March notifying the ABA of its intent to seek accreditation and will submit a self-study in August which will explain what the school is about, where it wants to go and what challenges it faces. If the school does well it could have provisional approval by the end of the spring 2015 semester.
ABA: Lawyers should not contact jurors through social media
Attorneys can look at a juror’s public Facebook page but shouldn’t message the juror through the Internet or social media and try to access a private account, according to a formal opinion released Thursday by the American Bar Association.
ABA: Valpo Law enrollment surges; McKinney, ND down; Maurer ticks up
First-year law school enrollment jumped 28 percent this academic year at Valparaiso University Law School, according to data from the American Bar Association.
ABA task force advises review of law school costs
In its year and a half examination of how lawyers are educated, the American Bar Association Task Force on the Future of Legal Education concluded the financial system law schools have developed to provide that education must be re-engineered.
Shepard offering recommendations for changing legal education to ABA
Retired Indiana Chief Justice Randall Shepard will present the final findings and recommendations of the American Bar Association Task Force on the Future of Legal Education to the ABA House of Delegates Monday.