Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Stanford law prof remembered as leading legal ethics scholar and advocate for access to justice
• ABA Journal, Will Paper Bar Exams Become a Thing of the Past?
• Scott Fruehwald (Legal Skills Prof Blog),  Cognitive Biases, Learning Styles, and the Bahadur/Zhang Article
• Neil Fulton (Dean, South Dakota), Ten Questions For Unconventional Dean Candidates
• Los Angeles Times, Chapman Professor Will Retire After Uproar Over His Speaking at Trump Rally

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, 2 competing legal research companies announce merger
• Catherine Albiston (UC-Berkeley), Scott L. Cummings (UCLA) & Richard L. Abel (UCLA), Making Public Interest Lawyers In A Time Of Crisis: An Evidence-Based Approach
• Rory Bahadur (Washburn) & Liyun Zhang (South Carolina), Of Socratic Teaching and Learning Styles: Exposing the Pervasiveness of Implicit Bias and White Privilege in Legal Pedagogy; Adam Lamparello (Independant), Reply; Scott Fruehwald (Legal Skills Prof Blog), Reply.
• Bloomberg Law, Ninety Percent of Suspected Cheaters Cleared by California Bar
• Bloomberg, Over 1,000 New Lawyers Get Licenses Without Taking Bar Exam
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), The Top 10 Legal Education Posts Of 2020

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup: Best Legal Education Articles Of 2020

Here is my annual list of the best legal education articles of the previous year.  If you have any favorites you would like to add, please feel free to use the comments.

• Kevin Bennardo (UNC), Legal Writing's Harmful Psyche
• Darby Dickerson (Dean, UIC John Marshall Law School), AALS President’s Message, Abolish the Academic Caste System
• Darby Dickerson (Dean, UIC John Marshall Law School), AALS President’s Message, President’s Message: Promoting Candor
• J. Lyn Entrikin (Arkansas-Little Rock), Lucy Jewel (Tennessee), Susie Salmon (Arizona), Craig T. Smith (North Carolina), Kristen K. Tiscione (Georgetown) & Melissa H. Weresh (Drake), Treating Professionals Professionally: Requiring Security of Position for All Skills-Focused Faculty under ABA Accreditation Standard 405(c) and Eliminating 405(d)
• Jessica Erickson (Richmond), A New Series of Posts on Remote & Physically Distanced Teaching – Preparing for the Fall and Famous Last Words

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Thousands of California Bar Exam Takers Have Video Files Flagged For Review
• ABA Website, ABA Website Updates Data on Law School Admissions, Tuition and Other Matters
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), What Do You Say To Students, Staff, Faculty, And Alumni Who Have Soldiered Through A Pandemic With You?
• Columbia Press Release, Gillian Lester Is Eighth Law School Dean To Give At Least $100,000 To Students
• Meera E. Deo (Thomas Jefferson), The Paradox of Faculty-Student Interactions
• Derek Muller (Iowa), Law School 1L JD Enrollment Holds Steady For 7th Straight Year as Non-JD Enrollment Climbs to All-Time Highs

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Do law students, professors and administrators agree on challenges of online learning?
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), UCLA Dean Jennifer Mnookin Donates Kidney To Her Father
• Cleveland Scene op-ed:  The Case for Changing the Name of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
• Michael Conklin (Angelo State University), The Longer They Are, the More Citations They Receive: How Impact Factor Punishes Concise Scholarship
• Darby Dickerson (Dean, UIC John Marshall Law School), AALS President’s Message, Abolish the Academic Caste System

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Cover Story (Dec. 2020), Law School Debt Is Delaying Plans For Recent Grads
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), The Red-Hot Fall 2021 Law School Admissions Season: Applicants Are Up 38%, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands
• Bridget J. Crawford (Pace), Information for Submitting to Online Law Review Companions
• Michael Conklin (Angelo State University), The Curious Case of Howard Law School’s Peer Ranking
• A. Michael Froomkin (Miami), The Virtual Law School, 2.0

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Law Prof Finds Ways to Connect Remotely Amid Historic Election and COVID-19 Restrictions
• R. Lisle Baker (Suffolk), Character and Fitness for Leadership – Educating Lawyers for Compassion and Courage as well as Brains -- The Wizard of Oz was Right
• Cornell Daily Sun, Cornell Ends Cherished Ithaca Tradition: Snow Days Replaced By Zoom Classes
• The Daily Orange, College of Law Will Use Proctoring Software Despite Bias, Security Concerns
• Darby Dickerson (Dean, UIC John Marshall), President’s Message: Abolish the Academic Caste System
• Inside Higher Ed, Applications Jump to Law and Medical School

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Pandemic Problems May Be Defense For Law Schools Not Meeting Bar Passage Standard
• William J. Carney (Emory), Organizing a Business Law Department Within a Law School
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Fall 2021 Law School Admissions At The Quarter-Pole: Applicants Are Up 32%, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands And Applicants Of Color
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), October 2020 Florida Bar Exam Results: Florida International Is #1 For 6th Year In A Row
• Scott Fruehwald (Legal Skills Prof Blog),  FIU Scores No. 1 on The Florida Bar, Again

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Leonard Baynes (Dean, Houston), 5 Steps Law School Deans Can Take to Improve Diversity and Inclusion
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Projections For Fall 2021 Law School Applicants: +28% (+53% In 160-180 LSAT Band)
• Chronicle of Higher Education, The Faux Righteousness Of Test-Optional Admissions: Increasing U.S. News Rankings, Not Diversity, Is The Motivation
• Sabrina DeFabritiis (Suffolk) & Kathleen Elliott Vinson (Suffolk), Under Pressure: How Incorporating Time-Pressured Performance Tests Prepares Students for the Bar Exam and Practice
• Yvonne Dutton (Indiana-Indianapolis) & Margaret Ryznar (Indiana-Indianapolis), Law School Pedagogy Post-Pandemic: Harnessing the Benefits of Online Teaching

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, How Many Tenured Law Professors Are Black? Public Data Does Not Say
• Jeff Baker (Pepperdine), 2020 Update From the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law Program of Clinical Education
• Jeffrey A. Cooper (Quinnipiac), Rethinking the Estate Planning Curriculum
• Brian L. Frye (Kentucky), A Legal Scholarship Jubilee
• Michael Goodyear (Michigan), Information for Submitting Articles to Specialty & Non-Flagship Law Journals

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• AccessLex Institute, 2020 Legal Education Data Deck
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), The Booming Fall 2021 Law School Admissions Season: Applicants Are Up Over 35%, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands And Applicants Of Color
• Chronicle of Higher Education, Students Cheat. How Much Does It Matter?
• Peter Felten (Assistant Provost, Elon) & Leo M. Lambert (Former President, Elon), Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College (John Hopkins University Press 2020)
• Labor Dept: Women Basketball Coaches at UConn Were Underpaid

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Young Lawyers Division & AccessLex, 2020 Law School Student Loan Debt Survey Report
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Love is Free. Guac is Extra.: How Vulnerability, Empowerment, And Curiosity Built An Unstoppable Team
• Conference, Black Lawyers Matter: Strategies To Enhance Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion
• Michelle Lyon Drumbl Appointed Interim Dean of the Washington and Lee School of Law
• Brian Larsen (Texas A&M), DOURS: A Heuristic for Discovering Research Questions

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Dan Markel's Murder Trial: A Video Recap
• Brian L. Frye (Kentucky), Pounded in the Butt by My Self-Plagiarized Tingler Negging Legal Scholarship
• The Graphic, Faculty And Staff Find Silver Linings Amid Loss And Isolation During COVID-19
• Hamilton and the Law: Reading Today's Most Contentious Legal Issues through the Hit Musical (Lisa Tucker (Drexel) ed., Cornell University Press 2020)
• Inside Higher Ed, Faculty Confidence In Online Learning Grows

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Recent Equal Pay Lawsuits by Female Law Professors Has Shined a Light on Academic Compensation Process
• Judith Areen (Executive Director, AALS), Law Prof Hiring Is Down 25% This Year
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), An Invitation To Alumni To Join Our Important Work On Racial Justice
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Should Law School Deans Have A Chief Of Staff?
• Inside Higher Ed, #Manterrupting In The VP Debate ... And The Academy

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Fall 2021 Law School Admissions Season Opens With A Bang: Applicants Are Up Over 35%, With Biggest Increases Among The Highest LSAT Bands
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Selina Farrell And Bob Pushaw Win Pepperdine University Teaching Award
• Jonathan Curry (Tax Analysts), Academic Spotlight: Andy Grewal — The Lucky Law Professor
• Inside Higher Ed, Should Innovation And Entrepreneurship Be Added To Teaching, Research And Service RPT Trinity?
• Legal Tech News, Bridging the ‘AI Skills Gap’ in the Legal Industry

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye (California Supreme Court Chief Justice), Letter to Deans Denying Request To Make Oct. 5-6 Online Bar Exam Open Book With No Proctoring
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine),  35 Law Professors Weigh In On Amy Coney Barrett's Nomination
• Cleveland 19 News, Cleveland State Considering Renaming Cleveland Marshall College of Law Due To Its Racist Roots
• Gerry Connolly, Connolly Calls on GMU To Rename Law School the “Scalia-Ginsburg School of Law”
• Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn Law Removes Statement on RBG’s Death After Inclusion of Amy Wax Quote Sparked Outrage

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, California law school gets donation that's said to be 'one of the biggest in history' from tribe to university
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Seattle Is Eleventh Law School To Offer Hybrid Online J.D.
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Suffolk Is Twelfth Law School To Offer Hybrid Online J.D.
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Tax Prof Twitter Census (2020-21 Edition)
• In Re Temporary Waiver of the Bar Exam Requirement For Admission to the State Bar of California and Provision of Emergency Diploma Privilege

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), September 11th At Pepperdine
• Center for the Study of Applied Legal Education, 2019-2020 Survey of Applied Legal Education
• J. Lyn Entrikin (Arkansas-Little Rock), Lucy Jewel (Tennessee), Susie Salmon (Arizona), Craig T. Smith (North Carolina), Kristen K. Tiscione (Georgetown) & Melissa H. Weresh (Drake), Treating Professionals Professionally: Requiring Security of Position for All Skills-Focused Faculty under ABA Accreditation Standard 405(c) and Eliminating 405(d)
• Joint Statement of the Deans of the University of California Law Schools About the Value of Critical Race Theory
• Letter to Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the California Supreme Court

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Harvard Law introduces social media policy about classroom statements
• Patrick Barry (Michigan), Editing and Interleaving
• Bloomberg Law, California Supreme Court Urged to Ditch Online Bar Exam
• In re: Petition to Amend the Rules of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar and the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar
• Lansing City Pulse, Nassar Fallout Delays Student Loans For Hundreds at MSU Law

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Nicolas W. Allard (Former Dean, Brooklyn), Act Now, Avert More Bar Exam Chaos Later
• Rory D. Bahadur (Washburn), Blinded by Science? A Reexamination of the Bar Ninja and Silver Bullet Bar Program Cryptids
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Year In Review (2019-2020)
• The College Fix, Black University Of San Diego Law Students Demand Classroom Diversity Monitors To Report ‘Questionable Conduct’
• Fire, Diane Klein Sentenced to ‘Academic Death Penalty’ at University of La Verne Despite Unanimous Faculty Recommendation to Reinstate Her. Klein Vows Lawsuit

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

Tribute to Professor John Dewitt Gregory:  When you have been in a field long enough, you suffer the pain of the loss of many beloved colleagues.  This week, retired law Professor John Dewitt Gregory passed away.  John was a remarkable human being.  I knew him at Hofstra. He was a mentor and a wonderful friend. He will be missed.

• ABA Journal, 2 Law Schools Dinged For Bar Pass Standard Are Now Found To Be in Compliance
• Bloomberg Law, New York Tries to Reassure Test Takers About Online Bar Exam
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), A Message from Dean Paul Caron: Our New Academic Year
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Caruso Law Waves Of Excellence Scholarship Award Presented Posthumously To Jim McGoldrick
• Columbus Dispatch, Moritz Family Spreading Word About Endowment Battle With Ohio State

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Caruso Law Seeks To Hire Tax, Criminal Law, Evidence And Torts Profs
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Tax Prof Moves, 2016-20
• Mark A. Cohen (CEO, Legal Mosaic), Post-Pandemic Legal Education
• FIU News, FIU's Antony Page Is Third Law School Dean To Make Major Gift To Students During COVID-19
• Scott Fruehwald (Legal Skills Prof Blog), The Five Types of Legal Reasoning and Argument

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Law prof sues over N-word suspension and says being white led to different treatment
• ABA Journal, Top tips to successfully finish the first year of law school in a pandemic
• ABA Journal, With scholarship ruse, law school assistant dean of admissions is accused of stealing $74K
• Baltimore Sun, Maryland Law School Deans, Recent Graduates Urge State to Temporarily Waive Bar Exam
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Welcome, Pepperdine Caruso Law School Class Of 2023

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Albuquerque Journal, Suspected Ransomware Attack Hits UNM Law School
• Nicholas Allard (Former Dean, Brooklyn), ABA Must Seize Opportunity To Respond To Bar Exam Chaos
• William J. Carney, Curricular Change in Legal Education (Emory)
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), ABA Votes 64%-36% To Urge States To Ditch In-Person Bar Exams During COVID-19
• Deans Letter to Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar on Bias Training (July 30, 2020)

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Josh Blackman (South Texas), The Elephant in the Room for the Diploma Privilege Debate
• Bloomberg Law, Cyber Attack Locks Michigan Bar Exam Takers Out of Online Test
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Dedication of the James M. McGoldrick, Jr. Office
• James C. Phillips (Chapman), Which Law Schools Will Thrive (46), Survive (65), Struggle (23), Or Perish (18) In The Age Of COVID-19?
• Scott Fruehwald (Legal Skills Prof Blog), Second Expanded Edition of Think Like A Lawyer: Legal Reasoning for Law Students and Business Professionals

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Josh Blackman (South Texas), What Happens When a Professor Is Unable to Finish Teaching a Class Due to COVID-19?
• William J. Carney (Emory), Curricular Change in Legal Education
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Caruso Law Hosts Webinar Today On Federal Courts In The Age Of COVID
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Virtual Tour Of L.A. Law Schools
• Michael Conklin (Angelo State), Can You Truly Be Happy in Law School? An Analysis of Law School Advice

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Several States Push Ahead With In-Person July Bar Exams, Despite COVID-19 Health Risks
• Michael Abramowicz (George Washington), Predictive Test Scores and Diploma Privilege
• California Supreme Court, California To Give Online Bar Exam On Oct. 5-6, Permanently Lower Cut Score, Provide Provisional Licensure For Class Of 2020 Grads
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Law School Applicants Are Up 0.1%, With Biggest Increases Among Southeast, 165-180 LSATs, And Those Who Declined To Reveal Their Ethnicity
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Hosts A Virtual Conversation On Race Today

 

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Bloomberg Law, Recent Law Grads Call On California Trustees to Scrap Bar Exam
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), July 4th And Hamilton
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Caruso School of Law Announces $1 Million Gift From the Honorable Daniel Weinstein (Ret.)
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Caruso Law Announces Appointment of Chalak Richards (JD '12) as Assistant Dean of Student Life, Diversity, and Belonging
• Concord Monitor, Law Faculty Vote For Removal of Pierce Name

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Austin Stateman, Texas Law Schools Call For Changes to Bar Exam Amid Coronavirus Surge
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Hamilton At Pepperdine And On Disney+
• Daily Tar Heel, UNC School of Law Responds to Letter From Group of Black Students
• David Faigman (Dean, UC-Hastings), Classes Remain Online for Fall 2020
• Dan Filler (Drexel), Concordia Law School Closes Suddenly

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Tyler Ambrose, Zarinah Mustafa & Sherin Nassar (J.D. 2022, Harvard), Law Schools’ Complicity on Racism Must Be Challenged
• Josh Blackman (South Texas), The Difficulties of Teaching a "Hybrid" Class
• Marcilynn Burke (Dean, Oregon), Brian Gallini (Dean, Willamette) & Jennifer Johnson (Dean, Lewis & Clark) to Oregon Supreme Court: Diploma Privilege Request (June 15, 2020)
• David W. Case (Miss.), A Pedagogical Rationale for the Law Professor as Moot Court Coach
• Erwin Chemerinskly (UC-Berkeley), UC-Berkeley Joins Harvard In Going 100% Online For Fall 2020 Semester

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA, Texas Tech University School of Law Named 2019-2020 ABA Competitions Champion
• William S. Bailey (University of Washington), Scaling Langdell's Wall
• Boston Globe, UNH’s Franklin Pierce School of Law Considering Name Change
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Only 5% Of Black First-Time Takers Passed February California Bar Exam, Compared To 52% Of Whites, 42% Of Asians, And 31% Of Hispanics
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Your Voices Matter At Pepperdine Caruso Law

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Revised Bar Pass Standard May Be Less Absolute Than Some Thought
• Jeremy Bearer-Friend (George Washington), Tax Prof Attacked By National Guard And Police At Peaceful Protest In Washington, D.C.
• Marcus Cole (Dean, Notre Dame), I Am George Floyd. Except, I Can Breathe. And I Can Do Something.
• Neil Hamilton (St. Thomas), The Gap Between the Foundational Competencies Clients and Legal Employers Need and the Learning Outcomes Law Schools Are Adopting
• James Heller (William & Mary) & Simon F. Zagata (J.D. 2018, William & Mary), Back To the Future: ABA Law School Accreditation in the 21st Century and America's First Law School's Battle to Survive in the 1970s

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA, Employment Outcomes as of April 2020 (Class of 2019 Graduates)
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Bob Morse Discusses The U.S. News Law School Rankings Today At Texas A&M Virtual Conference
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Law School Applicants Are Down 3.2%, With Biggest Declines Among Midwest, 120-164 LSATs, And African-Americans
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), A Message on the Death of George Floyd from Dean Paul Caron
• Concord Monitor, Some UNH Law School Grads Don’t Have to Take the Bar Exam
• Scott Fruehwald (Legal Skills Prof Blog), AALS President Darby Dickerson: Promoting Candor with Critical Thinking

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA, Ten Law Schools Are Out Of Compliance With 75% Bar Passage Accreditation Requirement
• ABA Journal, 10 law schools were found out of compliance with bar passage standard, ABA legal ed section says
• Swethaa Ballakrishnen (UC-Irvine) & Carole Silver (Northwestern), Language, Culture, and the Culture of Language: International JD Students in U.S. Law Schools, in Power, Legal Education, and Law School Cultures
• Josh Blackman (South Texas), The Empty Threat of 2Ls and 3Ls Transferring To Receive In-Person Instruction
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Caruso Law School's 2020-21 Visiting Professors

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Expanded Online Law School Classes Could Continue Under Plan Endorsed by ABA Legal Ed Council
• ABA Journal, Law school still out of compliance with ABA admissions standard and dealing with fraud allegations
• Above the Law, The Time Is Now To Support Real Innovation In Legal Education
• Vikram Amar (Dean, Illinois), Why It is Unconstitutional for State Bars, When Doling out Bar-Exam Seats, to Favor In-State Law Schools
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Remembering Jim McGoldrick, Who Died From COVID-19 Complications After Serving Nearly 50 Years On The Pepperdine Caruso Law Faculty

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, California Announces Online Bar Exam, But How Will It Work?
• Rachel S. Arnow-Richman (Denver), Integrated Learning, Integrated Faculty  
• Susan L. Brooks (Drexel), Leaning into Uncertainty: Ensuring Quality Legal Education During Coronavirus – A Conference
• Scott Fruehwald (Legal Skills Prof Blog), That Does Not Compute, President Winick
• Melissa N. Henke (Kentucky), When Your Plate is Already Full: Efficient and Meaningful Outcomes Assessment for Busy Law Schools

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Bar Exam Does Little to Ensure Attorney Competence, Say Lawyers in Diploma Privilege State
• ABA Journal, If law schools can’t offer in-person classes this fall, what will they do instead?
• Vikram Amar (Dean, Illinois), The New York Bar’s Misguided Discrimination Against Out-Of-State Law Schools
• Sara Berman (AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence), Gregory Brandes (Dean, St. Francis School of Law), Megan Carpenter (Dean, University of New Hampshire School of Law) & Andrew L. Strauss (Dean, University of Dayton School of Law), Secure Online High Stakes Testing: A Serious Alternative as Legal Education Moves Online
• Bloomberg Law op-ed, by Claudia Angelos (NYU), Eileen Kaufman (Touro), Deborah Jones Merritt (Ohio State) & Patricia E. Salkin (Touro),  New York’s Bar Exam Changes Are Misguided—Here’s a New Proposal

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Above the Law, Please Don’t Go To Law School Because Of COVID-19
• Bradley A. Areheart (Tennessee), The Top 100 Law Reviews: A Reference Guide Based on Historical USNWR Data
• Heather Baxter (Nova), Using Hamilton’s “Farmer Refuted” to Teach Oral Argument
• Matt Leichter, 2018: Full-Time Law Students Paying Full Tuition Fall By 2.2 Percentage Points
• National Conference of Bar Examiners, July 2020 Bar Exam Status by Jurisdiction

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ASU, As Pandemic Creates Admissions Barriers, ASU Law Opens Its Doors Even Wider
• Sara Berman (AccessLex Center) and Neil Hamilton (St. Thomas), Fifteen Simple Ways (“low hanging fruit”) for Law Professors to Integrate Professional Formation and Development into Online Classrooms
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Retirement Of Pepperdine Caruso Law Legend Peter Robinson
• Amy Farley, Christopher Swoboda, Joel Chanvisanuruk, Keanen McKinley & Alicia Boards (Cincinnati), A Deeper Look At Bar Success: The Relationship Between Law Student Success, Academic Performance, and Student Characteristics
• Scott Fruehwald (Legal Skills Prof Blog), The Evidence-Based Mindset for Legal Scholarship: A Key to Critical Thinking

 

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Patrick Gaughan (Akron) & Samantha Prince (Penn St), Facilitating Distinctive and Meaningful Change Within U.S. Law Schools (Part 2): Pursuing Successful Plan Implementation Through Better Resource Management
• Joy Kanwar (Brooklyn), Avatars, Acting and Imagination: Bringing New Techniques into the Legal Classroom
• Adam Lamparello, The Flaws of Implicit Bias -- and the Need for Empirical Research in Legal Scholarship and in Legal Education
• Nat'l Jurist, What Law Grads Earn By Salary, Debt, And Debt-To-Income Ratios
• Karen Sloan (Law.com), How Will COVID-19 Disrupt Law School Admissions?

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, ABA Board of Governors backs limited practice for recent law school grads as they await bar exam
• D. Benjamin Barros (Dean, Toledo), Timing of the Bar Exam:  A Billion Dollar Issue in the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond
• Paolo Butturini (Verona) & Susan DeJarnatt (Temple), Taking on the Role of Lawyer: Transactional Skills, Transnational Issues, and Commercial Law
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Caruso Law School Dinner (Social Distancing Edition)
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Caruso Law Hosts 6th Annual Parris Awards

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

Lead story: Another important study of legal education appeared last month: Law School Transparency's 2025 Vision.  Excerpt: "When law schools price potential contributors out of the profession, they jeopardize the pipeline of students who want and can afford to protect the rule of law, deliver quality legal services, and narrow the justice gap. Myriad factors stand between good intentions and meaningful reform, but more accessible, affordable, and innovative law schools can become the new normal if we devote additional energy to changing the structural barriers that hold schools back."

Other legal education news:

• ABA Journal, Legal reform supporters will keep advocating for California sandbox proposal
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Provides Covid-19 Legal Resources For Those In Need
• Chicago Maroon, Law School Plans to Stick To ‘Status Quo’ Grading, Bucking Peers’ Move to Mandatory Pass-Fail
• Scott Fruehwald (Legal Skills Prof Blog), The Pernicious Influence of U.S. News Law Rankings on Law Schools: Two New Reports
• Harvard Crimson, ‘A Decidedly Suboptimal Set of Circumstances’: Harvard Law Professors Evaluate Online Instruction

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

Lead story: The ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Education has issued a new report on the future of legal education: Principles For Legal Education and Licensure in the 21st Century: Principles and Commentary.   This report is probably the most important statement on Legal Education since the "Carnegie Report" and "Best Practices" appeared in 2007.  It contains a bold plan, which urges legal education reform now.

The report states, "There is positive change already underway; passionate innovators in every sector of legal education and licensure strive for progress every day. To build on that work, we need systemic change—and we need it now."  It continues, ""The Commission believes that systemic change is possible. The Foundational and Operational Principles provide a platform for structured change. Individuals and institutions can use these Principles to assess current practices and fashion new ones."  The plan concludes, "Although continued study is critical, we must move forward purposefully with aligned, transparent, and meaningful change. It is past time to shift collectively from study into action."

In other words, the future of legal education is now.

Other legal education news:

• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Graduate Law Degrees Soar Online
• Ronald J. Columbo (Hofstra), Teaching a Synchronous Online Business Organizations Course to J.D. Students: A Case Study

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Education (members), Principles For Legal Education and Licensure in the 21st Century: Principles and Commentary
• ABA Journal, ABA commission points out legal ed and licensure issues that built access-to-justice barriers
• ABA Journal, US News releases its 2021 law school rankings
• Josh Blackman (South Texas), 30-Minute Webinar On Using Zoom For Law School Classes
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine’s Place In The 2021 U.S. News Law School Rankings (Congratulations to Paul and the Pepperdine faculty for their 25 point rise in the U.S. News Law School Rankings!)

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, Coronavirus and law schools: Numerous schools canceling in-person classes
• ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure – Matters for Notice and Comment
• ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Council Decision, Notice of Law School Demonstrating Compliance With Standard 501(b) and Interpretations 501-1, 501-2, and 501-3 (Golden Gate University School of Law) (Feb. 2020)
• American Lawyer, Should Law Schools Do More to Develop Business-Ready Attorneys?
• Ray Campbell (Peking), The Great Mass Online Teaching Experiment

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• ABA Journal, What comes next for ABA-accredited law schools with two-year pass rates below 75%?
• ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Council Decision, Law School Compliance Update: Standards 301(a) and 309(b) (Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law)
• ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Council Decision, Notice of Law School Demonstrating Compliance With Standard 202(a), (c), and (d) (University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law)
• AccessLex, Future in Law? A Profile of Graduating College Seniors Interested in Legal Education and Careers
• John Campbell (Denver), Ex Machina: Technological Disruption and the Future of Artificial Intelligence in Legal Writing

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Weekly Legal Education Roundup

• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), 2021 U.S. News Law School Rankings
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Fellowships For Aspiring Law Professors (Updated 2019-20 Edition)
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), London Study Abroad Opportunity For 2Ls And 3Ls In Fall 2020
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Pepperdine Caruso Law Builds Pipeline for Historically Underserved Students
• David Frakt (Independent), The Truth About the California Bar Exam

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Weekly SSRN Tax Article Review And Roundup: Elkins Reviews Newman's Sales And Donations Of Self-Created Art, Literature, And Music

This week, David Elkins (Netanya, visiting Cornell Spring 2020) ) reviews a recently posted work by Joel S. Newman (Wake Forest), Sales and Donations of Self-Created Art, Literature, and Music, 12 Pitt. Tax. Rev. 57 (2015):

I have always enjoyed the writings of Professor Joel Newman. He combines insightful analysis with a touch of humor that is distinctive in the tax discourse. In the article reviewed here, Professor Newman discussed the tax treatment of sales and donations of self-created art, literature and music.

The first part of the article concerns sales. In 1948, General Dwight D. Eisenhower sold his memoirs. As he was a general and not a professional writer, the sale of those memoirs received capital gains treatment. In response, Congress enacted what is now §1221(a)(3), which provides that the term capital asset does not include “a copyright, a literary, musical, or artistic composition, a letter or memorandum, or similar property, held by a taxpayer whose personal efforts created such property.” Thus, the sale of memoirs by a future general would produce ordinary income. In 2005 Congress made an exception to the general rule (pun intended) and granted songwriters capital gains treatment on the sale of copyright to their works.

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