March 15, 2010

NYU Law Launches First Official Student Blog

Last week NYU announced the launch of its first official student blog, Life at NYU Law.  The blog is sponsored by the NYU Law Admissions Office and is aimed at prospective students.  Written by seven 1L and 2L students, the blog is designed to showcase the NYU Law experience.

The blog, started earlier this month on March 4, has so far covered topics such as classes, faculty, public interest offerings, internships and jobs, campus events, off-campus social activities, living in New York City, public interest, general tips and advice, and bloggers’ thoughts on various topics of law.  In two of the first posts,  one student outlined the best way to learn the campus, while another blogger described her experience at the Public Interest Law Center’s career fair.  To visit the blog, go here.

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# posted by admin @ 12:00 pm in General, Law School News, School: New York University

Study Places Yale Law Atop ‘Scholarly Impact’ Ranking

Offering a preview Friday of the soon-to-be-released full rankings, Brian Leiter’s Law School Reports has placed Yale Law School atop its 2010 study of “scholarly impact.”

Yale was followed in the rankings, which tabulate scholarly citations over a five year period, by Harvard Law School and the University of Chicago Law School in the top three. Rounding out the top ten are: Stanford, New York University, Columbia, U. California-Berkeley, Northwestern, U. California-Irvine and Vanderbilt.

The study’s methodology is based off of the number of citations from January 2005 to mid-January 2010, and is primarily restricted to tenured faculty, excluding, for example, judges who still teach periodically at these leading law schools.

The full rankings list extends to the top 25 scholarly programs. Of these remaining law schools, Leiter writes that Florida State University College of Law had a “particularly notable” placement, coming in at No. 23.

Leiter also said he hopes to have the entire study online by mid-April. The full study will also feature specialty rankings in such areas as Tax, Law & Economics, Legal History and International Law.

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# posted by admin @ 8:00 am in General, Law School News, Rankings, School: Yale

March 12, 2010

Fridays From the Frontline

Hello and welcome to Clear Admit’s Fridays From the Frontline, our weekly tour of the ‘blawgosphere.’ This week, as the weather warmed, 0L spirits were good and many current students were giving their advice to future 1Ls.

0L Danielle discussed the detriments of spending too much time on any legal online forum. 0L Ricky Nelson was also not a fan of the online message boards, but did have a few suggestions on how to learn more about a school’s true character.

NYU ‘12 Invisble Man knew that accepted students would soon be arriving on campus for admitted students weekend, and provided 0Ls with sage advice, which included a reminder that drinking too much would be bad, and that they won’t know what hard work is until they’re actually enrolled. 1L Molly continued to attend a class that many of her classmates did not, but wasn’t sure of the exact value she was getting as a result.  Miami ‘12 shared a story of what not do while arguing in front of a judge, though the veracity of his version was questioned. NYU ‘12 IDWSJ linked to school-sponsored student blogs, and continued to express a desire to stop blogging. Fellow upper eastsid-er Reckless accepted a summer job in Buffalo, and liked what turned up when she searched ‘Buffalo happy hours.’ 1L Cee got the internship she wanted the most and hoped she wouldn’t mind the hour-long commute to get there. Austin ‘12 Mariel responded to a recent article about the law school and argued that the writers of said article got it wrong. NCCU ‘12 TDOT welcomed the beginning of spring break and summarized his experience on various mid-term exams. Northwestern ‘12 Jeremy hinted that he had an ideal internship locked down for the summer.

Harvard ‘11 Ivy Lea appreciated her professor’s presentation of information about the Brown v. Board of Education case, and thought the timing of the lecture coincided with spring fever perfectly. Yale ‘11 SB though restating her overall love for the school, did provide a few insights into Yale that many might not know. 2L The Exit planned to bring work/life balance back into style. Minnesota ‘11 Jansen provided his own unsolicited advice to future 1Ls.

UVA ‘10 Rule 12 outlined a number of things to keep in mind when trying out for journals. 3L I’m Nobody didn’t have time to go into detail, but she listed a number of topics she’d like to write more about when time permits.

And that wraps up this round of law blog look-sees. We hope that the fine weather much of the US is enjoying lifts everyone’s spirits during mid-term exams and continued job searches! Until next week, have a great weekend!

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# posted by admin @ 8:08 am in Fridays From the Frontline

March 11, 2010

Study: Faculties Up 40% Across Law Schools, 1998-2008

Previewing a study that will be released in full later this month, the average law school increased its faculty size by 40 percent from 1998 to 2008, says the National Jurist.

The number of faculty at 195 accredited law schools grew from 12,200 to 17,080, according to the study.  These figures, which include deans, librarians, administrators who teach and part-time faculty, conversely lowered the average student-to-faculty ratio from 18.5-to-1 in 1998 to 14.9-to-1 in 2008.  In 1978, the average student-to-faculty ratio was 29-to-1.

One quoted professor, William Henderson of Indiana University Mauer School of Law, told National Jurist that he believes such an increase in faculty is due to schools’ efforts to strengthen their respective reputations.

“Law schools tend to believe that their faculty reputation is driven by scholarship and they are very interested in U.S. News (& World Report),” Henderson said.  “Lowering your faculty-to-student ratio improves your ranking and increases time for scholarship.”

Henderson said that individual professors are spending less time in the classroom and more time researching, with the average professor now teaching three courses.

Using faculty salary and student tuition data, the publication also determined that the 40 percent increase in staff has accounted for 48 percent of the decade’s tuition increase.

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# posted by admin @ 12:00 pm in General, Law School News

March 10, 2010

Citing Leadership Vacancy, USC Law Postpones Tax LL.M. Launch

In early December, we offered a few updates from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, as the institution introduced a new vision statement and an entertainment law program, a law and business program, and a graduate tax LL.M.

Now, however, it has been revealed that the law school has pushed back its launch of the tax LL.M. from Fall 2010 to Fall 2011.  Commenting to TaxProf Blog on Thursday, Gould Dean Robert Rasmussen cited an inability to secure proper leadership for the program.

“We view having the right leadership as essential to launching the program, and we are still in the process of finding our founding director,” Rasmussen said.  “We simply will not offer any program that does not meet USC’s standards for excellence.”

In December, we reported that the tax LL.M. would be led by existing faculty, but the delayed start and the dean’s comments seem to point to an external search.

The program had been accepting applications since October.  An email from a Gould 3L to TaxProf indicated that the law school is refunding the $75 application fee.

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# posted by admin @ 12:00 pm in LL.M., Law School News, School: USC / Gould

Admissions Tip: The Waitlist

What should an applicant do when placed on the waitlist at his or her dream school? While most applicants regard the waitlist in a negative light, the best approach is to view the glass as being half-full. In all cases, getting waitlisted is much better than getting denied.

Here are a few tips to help you navigate this often difficult and mysterious process:

1) Know your file. Before you can develop a waitlist strategy you need to understand where you may have fallen short in the application process. Read over your file with a critical eye and try to identify any weaknesses. Talk to anyone you know who might be able to give you feedback (law students at the target school, former admissions officers, admissions consultants, etc).

2) Familiarize yourself with the school’s waitlist rules. Do you need to ‘opt-in’ in order to be on the list? Are you allowed to submit supplemental materials to bolster your case or inform the committee of changes to your candidacy? Does the school offer a chance for feedback via a phone session or interview with a ‘waitlist manager’?

3) Consider a school visit. It may make sense to visit the school, particularly if you have not been before. So many different things can happen on a visit:

a) You never know when you’ll have that chance meeting with an admissions officer who is willing to give you a little feedback (and who through the process of meeting you face to face might get a better sense of your candidacy)

b) A school may take note of your visit (if you sign in with the admissions office) and view it as a potential sign of your interest

c) You may interact with students or professors who can better inform you of opportunities at the school and provide you with helpful ‘content’ for any waitlist materials you go on to submit

d) By visiting, you may find out that school X is really not for you, enabling you to move on and remove yourself from the waitlist

Just as there are a number of waitlist to-do items, there are also countless things to avoid doing – check back on this blog in the coming weeks for a post regarding this topic.

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# posted by admin @ 8:00 am in Admissions Tip

March 9, 2010

U.S. News Says Rankings Don’t Alter Law School Diversity

Responding to a somewhat accusatory study, the U.S. News & World Report’s Robert Morse downplayed the effect his publication’s law school rankings have on institutional diversity, addressing the criticism in a blog entry last week.

The study in question, put forth by two professors at the University of Iowa College of Law and Northwestern University School of Law, is entitled, “Rankings and Diversity” (PDF).  It contends that rankings systems - with U.S. News at the forefront - place pressure on law schools to boost the measured statistics.  “…Efforts to improve these (selectivity) statistics can threaten various forms of diversity,” the study says.

Morse responds to the study by first saying that the publication does not know how to compare diversity across different populations.  “How should law schools be compared in ethnically diverse states like California and Florida,” the entry asks, “with those in far less diverse states like Maine and Kansas?”  Morse does say U.S. News would be willing to work with educators to develop “such fair diversity yardsticks.”

Secondly, Morse says the rankings system’s use of median LSAT scores, rather than averages, allows schools to admit students with more varied scores and should reduce the statistic-targeting.

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# posted by admin @ 12:00 pm in General, Law School News, Rankings

Trivia Tuesday: The Structure of the 1L Class at Stanford Law School

In today’s Trivia Tuesday, we’re looking at the way the student body at Stanford Law School is structured.

The average size of each SLS J.D. class is roughly 170 students, and has remained virtually constant for many years.  With Chicago Law’s 1L class holding steady at roughly 190 students and now that Yale Law has increased its class size from 185 to over 200 students, SLS has the smallest class of any of its peers by a relatively significant margin.

Unlike some larger schools, such as Harvard Law, which divide each class into cohorts or sections of 70 or more students to encourage a more collegial 1L experience, the small size of Stanford Law’s student body makes for an intimate law school experience by default.  Still, Stanford further emphasizes its highly supportive and collegial environment by separating its 1L class into small sections of approximately 28 students.  First-year students take all 1L required courses with the members of their section, which helps build a cohesive section identity and provides each student with a ready-made support system to help him or her adapt to the law school lifestyle and workload.  Students take their year-long 1L Legal Research and Writing course as well as one of their other core courses with just the members of their section — an intimate academic setting that ensures that students receive personalized attention, though is not so small that each student is in the spotlight all of the time.  The rest of the 1L required courses are made up of two or three small sections and constitute the largest classes that are offered at SLS.

For more information about the 1L experience at leading law schools, be sure to read the Clear Admit Law School Guides!

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# posted by admin @ 8:00 am in School: Chicago, School: Harvard, School: Stanford, School: Yale, Trivia Tuesday

March 8, 2010

Employment Statistics in Legal Field Improving

Although the past few months have revealed less-than-ideal job hunting conditions for law school grads, a recent article from The AmLaw Daily says that things may be looking up.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a flat overall unemployment rate of 9.7% this February, which is significantly better than the loss of approximately 650,000 jobs in the first few months of 2009.  The unemployment pattern for the legal field is shaping up even more positively, as Ross Todd from The American Lawyer reports:

“The news for the legal services sector is one of the more hopeful signs of late. Only 100 jobs were lost in the legal sector in February, the second month in a row that has seen a substantial drop-off in job losses. According to seasonally adjusted BLS data, the legal sector lost 1,100 jobs in January compared to 2,100 in December, 2,900 in November, and 5,800 in October. Since February of last year, the sector has shed 37,100 positions.”

Although these statistics are more favorable, consultants at Hildebrandt Baker Robbins and the Citigroup, Inc.’s Citi Private Bank division reported in the 2010 Client Advisory report that 2009 was possibly “the worst year for the legal market in at least the past half century,” making it a uniquely difficult year for law firms across the country.  Therefore, Todd writes, there are still challenges ahead, as many law firms will mostly likely continue to cut costs and subsequently affect employment.

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# posted by admin @ 12:00 pm in General

Columbia Law Partners with Oxford for Law and Finance Program

Columbia Law School last week announced that it has partnered with England’s University of Oxford for the latest iteration of its Global Alliance Program.  The partnership will allow Columbia 3Ls to study law and finance at the British school.

While noting Columbia Law’s existing Global Alliance partnerships with other European institutions, Brian Gibson, the assistant dean for comparative and international programs, said in a press release, “We’re building strength on strength” (with the Oxford enterprise).

The alliance is slated to begin in 2011 with five 3L openings available each year.  According to the release, participants will be selected based on their interest level, their grasp of quantitative business law concepts, and their completion of four prerequisite courses.  The selected law students will take courses through Oxford’s Masters in Law and Finance curriculum and then have the opportunity to work London-based externships.

The alliance also extends to faculty, as a professorship exchange commences this spring when Columbia’s Professor Jeffrey Gordon will co-teach two courses at Oxford.

For more information on Columbia Law and its global legal reach, please see the Clear Admit Columbia Law School Guide.

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# posted by admin @ 8:00 am in Law School News, School: Columbia

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