USNWR Staff: Baylor Skews Rankings Data

US News & World Report staff have accused the Baylor University School of Law of repeatedly submitting misleading data in rankings surveys, Inside Higher Education says.

The allegations center around data supplied by Baylor on first-year students' LSAT scores and grade point averages. USNWR research staff cite three cases in recent years where Baylor officials gave 'misleading' information. In two cases, researchers noticed the discrepancies and corrected them before the rankings went to print. This year, however, Baylor's submissions were questioned only after the rankings were published.

Baylor holds the 51st spot in this year's USNWR rankings. Critics say it should be ranked about 58, based on more accurate data.

Baylor officials are accused of skewing the GPA and LSAT data by omitting statistics for first-year students who begin law studies in the spring or summer. Baylor allows students with less competitive GPA and LSAT scores begin classes early in the year. Students with stronger numbers start classes in the fall. By reporting data for only the fall intake, Baylor inflates the median statistics for the entire first-year law class.

Baylor officials say they did nothing wrong, and that they submit the same data to USNWR that they do to the ABA. USNWR director of data research Robert J. Morse told IHE that he and his staff will monitor Baylor data more closely in the future and "make sure that it doesn’t happen again."

Source: "False Rank," by Rob Cappricioso - Inside Higher Education, June 28, 2006

Kansas City Firms Increase Associates' Pay

Starting salaries for first-year associates at Kansas City law firms have risen to about $95,000, representing a 12 to 15 per cent increase over what area law firms typically paid in recent years.

Jim Heeter, managing partner of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP's Kansas City office, told the Kansas City Business Journal that local offices were forced to keep pace with salary increases that have been made nationwide. "Firms all across the country feel a need to meet the competition in order to get top legal talent," he said. "We consistently hire the top law school graduates. And in today's market, those people command a top salary."

Another attorney noted that there was increasing competition to recruit a limited pool of top law graduates. "If somebody is first in their class at the University of Kansas or the University of Missouri or UMKC and on the law review and interviews well, every big firm is going to be after that person. We are all chasing the same folks all the time," he said.

Source: "Law Firms Boost Salaries for New Hires," by Chris Grenz - the Kansas City Business Journal, June 23, 2006

UVA Showcases Members of Class of 2006

The University of Virginia School of Law profiles four of its top 2006 graduates in a feature article posted to its website. Here are some excerpts from what two of the students had to say:


Tim Lovelace, awarded the Thomas Marshall Miller Prize:

Favorite law school experience: "I truly enjoyed the spirited debates that occurred almost daily during the past school year in the Black Law Student Association (BLSA) office. Students routinely engaged a variety of contemporary and historical issues and discussed the topics from an exceptionally wide range of political viewpoints."

Favorite class and best learning experience: "Professor Risa Goluboff’s Civil Rights History from Plessy to Brown seminar really challenged me to think critically and reevaluate the dominant civil rights narrative....The students in Professor Goluboff’s seminar were amazing. The students interrogated the readings and the assumptions underlying the legal doctrine, and their efforts made the learning experience truly memorable."

I knew I wanted to go to Virginia when: "I realized how much I loved the University. The Law School’s blend of collegiality and academic rigor is remarkable."

Advice for entering students: "Find your passion and live purposefully. UVA Law offers students a wealth of opportunities, so seize the day."


Lindsay Buchanan, awarded the James C. Slaughter Honor Award:

Favorite class and best learning experience: "Criminal Investigation with Professor Coughlin, Trusts and Estates with Professor Cushman, and Evidence with Professor Dudley were probably my favorites. Professor Coughlin had so much energy and such a palpable desire to get students to see how lopsided the criminal justice system can be that it really got me fired up to get out into the world and try to do something about it. It was exactly the sort of class I imagined I would have in law school. Professor Cushman is a master craftsman of law teaching. Someone once described sitting through a lecture of his as witnessing the sculpting of a perfect wedding cake—there are many layers, but in the end you see a perfect whole. He takes what could be a rather mundane area of the law and makes it intricate, challenging, and entertaining. And Professor Dudley, well, he’s Professor Dudley.

"Best learning experience? Participating in the Criminal Defense Clinic this year. For the first time, I got to work directly with clients in the criminal justice system and see how my law school classes—from Criminal Law to Criminal Investigation and Adjudication to Evidence—either did or did not apply to real people in the real world. The clinic supervisors, all local criminal defense attorneys, freely shared their experience and expertise in this challenging field of law with humor and humility. It was an inspiring and eye-opening experience. "

Best summer experience: "I worked at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. during the summer of my second year. I worked with incredibly smart people who were creative thinkers and cared about the law—not just about their jobs. In one month, I got to work on a case representing plaintiffs alleging discrimination against a large restaurant chain, have lunch with Paul Tagliabue, the Commissioner of the National Football League, and chat up the cast of a major Broadway show at the Kennedy Center. For a kid from Kentucky, this was exhilarating!"

I knew I wanted to go to Virginia when: "I came to visit, the sun was out, and everyone seemed happy. The building was full of natural light. The library had a view out to the Blue Ridge Mountains. People were on the softball field in the middle of the day. I thought, this would be a nice place to study and play. "

For more about what these and other Virginia students have to say about their school, see "4 in the Class of 2006," posted to the University of Virginia School of Law website (http://www.law.virginia.edu/home2002/html/news
/2006_spr/gradaward.htm).

UCLA Increases Clerkship Placements

42 students and alumni from the UCLA School of Law have been selected for 2006-2007 judicial clerkships, reflecting a continuing increase in UCLA's clerkship placements.

Placements include clerkships at the U.S. Court of Appeals, the California Court of Appeal, Los Angeles Superior Court, the United States Tax Court, the Delaware Court of Chancery, and in federal and state courts across the country.

Two students will serve as clerks overseas, one with South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeals and the other with Israel's Supreme Court.

Assistant Dean for Career Services Elizabeth Moeller said that UCLA Law's increasing success in securing clerkships arises from the School's support for strong candidates and to its close relationships with judges across the U.S. In addition, she is quoted as saying in a UCLA press release, “This ongoing success is a testament to the excellent caliber of our students."

Source: "UCLA Law Placed 42 Judicial Clerkships Nationwide" - press release, UCLA School of Law, June 12, 2006

Tips for Getting the Most from a Summer Internship

The New Jersey Law Journal recently offered four tips for law students who want to get the most out of a summer associate experience and increase the chances of receiving a job offer from the same employer the following spring. It's the basis of some good advice for aspiring J.D.s who are spending this summer working or volunteering at law-related organizations, too:

1) Talk to people. Ask questions about what's being done, and why. You'll not only learn more about how law is practiced on a day-to-day basis, but you just may strike up a relationship with someone who could write a good recommendation letter for you when the time comes.

2) Listen to what's going on. Develop your ability to retain what you hear completely and accurately, especially when you're being given instructions. Efficient listening is a important skill for attorneys.

3) Observe everything you can. Law is a complex process, and a lot of important things go on outside any one person's vision. Take every chance that arises to gain some first-hand familiarity with legal processes and procedures.

4) Think over what you've seen and heard, and decide what lessons you should take from your experience. Do you still want to work in a big law firm, after seeing it from the perspective of a temp? Do you still want to work in public interest law, after seeing the financial compromises people make to work there? Did you come away from your summer experience with a story that sums up why you want to be a lawyer? If so, start making notes – you just might have the perfect anecdote to build your personal statement around.

Source: "Create the Right Lasting Impression," by Michael Fekete - The New Jersey Law Journal, June 5, 2006

UNC Names New Dean, Considers Expansion

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law has chosen John Charles Boger, an alumnus and longtime faculty member who is now the School's Wade Edwards distinguished professor of law, as its next dean.

Boger has taught at UNC for over 16 years. He is also deputy director of UNC's Center for Civil Rights.

UNC also announced that it was committing $2 million to the School of Law in recurring funds. The funds will be used to increase support staff and tenure-track faculty positions and to provide financial aid.

The University also said that it was launching a study to determine whether the law school should be expanded. The study will be completed by the end of this year.

Source: "UNC Names Dean of New Law School" - the Triangle Business Journal, June 7, 2006

2-Year JD Program Puts Dayton Students on Fast Track

The University of Dayton School of Law has enrolled 40 students in the first cohort of its accelerated J.D. program.

The accelerated program allows students to finish their degree requirements in just 24 months. Dayton feels this makes a law degree a more attractive option for adults who are reluctant to commit to a three-year program for financial or career reasons.

Students in the accelerated program take 18 credits per semester for five semesters. They have three semesters of classes their first year, beginning with a summer semester in May and continuing through the fall and spring. This first year of classes is followed by a summer break that can be used for a summer job or internship. Students then return to campus for two more semesters of study and graduate in the spring.

Dayton officials think that applicant interest in the accelerated J.D. option explains why the School's application volume grew by 13 per cent this year, whereas law school applications decreased by 4.8 per cent nationwide.

Source: "Law School in Two Years Flat," by Leigh Jones. The National Law Journal (www.law.com), June 5, 2006

MPP Selects Associates from Top Schools

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, a national law and consulting firm with offices in Los Angeles and New York, has issued a press release with brief profiles of its 2006 summer associates. The law schools the associates come from are:

In the firm's Los Angeles office:

Columbia University
Loyola Law School (Los Angeles)
New York University
The University of California, Berkeley (2 interns)
The University of California, Los Angeles (2 interns)
The University of Southern California

In the firm's New York City office:

Columbia University
New York University
Yale University

In the firm's Albany, NY office:

Albany Law School

Source: "Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Announces 2006 Summer Associates" - press release, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP (Los Angeles, CA), May 30, 2006

Law Students Getting a Welcome Dose of Reality

So many law firms make the same two complaints about young lawyers that their observations have become as familiar as the punch line to an old joke:

1. Too many J.D.s come out of law school with too little understanding of the legal work they need to perform as associates; and
2. Too many of them are leaving firms too soon, often because of disillusionment with the day-to-day realities of law practice.

Now there are several law schools and firms that are taking innovative approaches to addressing these shortcomings.

Harvard Law School is reportedly considering introducing its students to a more practical, problem-solving approach to law than they get through its traditional case study method. There is no hint that HLS plans to eliminate case studies, which are regarded as an excellent way to familiarize students with the law as a body of knowledge. However, an HLS committee is said to have been consulting with law firms, judges, legislators, business leaders and students about the skills and perspectives that J.D.s need to bring to the workplace along with their legal knowledge. The committee's recommendations for curriculum review are now under consideration by HLS faculty and staff and may be implemented later this year.

Summer internships are an important part of most law students' education, with internships at the biggest law firms being a much-sought-after prize. However, critics have complained that these internships often amounted to a summer-long entertainment for prospective hires rather than a substantive learning experience. Several firms are now changing course by giving their interns both structured training and more work responsibilities. One large Washington, DC-based firm goes so far as to send its best interns to a two-week-long litigation 'boot camp' where they act out roles in an imaginary patent case. Other firms conduct in-house training programs for their interns. Law firms hope that these initiatives will result in prospective hires who have a better grasp of the work they will do as associates, and who are able to perform at a higher level earlier in their careers.

How do the interns feel about this? By all accounts, they're pleased. They feel they're getting a more realistic picture of the work they will be doing after graduation, and they appreciate gaining skills that will help them advance in a competitive field.

Sources:

"In a Battle against Attrition, Law Schools Revamp Old Strategy" - the International Herald Tribune, May 9, 2006

"Summer Law Associates Get Down to Business" - the Wall Street Journal College Journal, May 26, 2006

New U of Denver Dean to Focus on Writing, Bar Preparation, Diversity

Jose Roberto Juarez, the new dean of the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver, wants to make Sturm one of the best writing programs in the country.

“If I could wave a magic wand, the one thing I would want to see happening in colleges and universities is a greater emphasis on writing, all the way down to the elementary level,” Juarez told the Laredo Morning Times. “If you want to be a successful lawyer or business person, you have to write well.”

Juarez's other goals include revising Sturm's J.D. curriculum and raising the school's bar passage rate. At present, about 70 per cent of Sturm students pass the Colorado bar exam on their first try. "Given the quality of students they have, the bar passage should be much, much higher," Juarez said.

Juarez also hopes to establish programs that would allow Sturm students to study law in Mexico and Latin America. He noted that Sturm already has a strong international law program, along with strong programs in tax and environmental law.

Juarez will be the third Hispanic presently heading a U.S. law school. He has long been concerned that a disproportionately small number of Hispanics pursue law degrees. He suspects that one factor discouraging Hispanics from applying to law schools is the emphasis that admissions committees place on LSAT scores. He thinks that the role LSAT scores play in law school rankings will make it difficult to get schools to agree to a different approach.

Juarez is moving to the University of Denver from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, where he has been a professor of law for over fifteen years. He taught courses in civil procedure, civil rights, federal courts, language rights, and professional standards. Earlier he was an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund in San Antonio and Los Angeles, where he worked on employment discrimination issues.

Juarez said that he had been invited by other schools to consider deanships, but was never interested in the position until the position at Sturm opened up. "I did a lot of homework and found a very interesting law school," he said.

Juarez holds a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in history from Stanford.

Source: "Juarez Tackles New Role at Colorado Law School," by Tricia Cortez - the Laredo Morning Times, May 30, 2006