A quick look at what's happening at law schools around the country:
1. Another compelling reason to go to Penn. You already know that the University of Pennsylvania Law School is the favorite child of Big Law for hiring. Now, Penn has added another draw: This fall, second- and third-year students can spend a semester at The Wharton School and earn a Wharton certificate in management. The program consists of four main subject areas: finance and accounting; leadership and organization design; strategic decision making; and competitive advantage. (The National Law Journal)
Of all the attempts to make law school more relevant (specialty clinics and third year abroad, among others), I must say this one seems the most impressive and substantive. Honestly, I don't know why other schools aren't jumping on the bandwagon.
2. Another compelling reason not to go to New York Law School. The New York Law School brand just keeps dropping. In the past we've chronicled how disgruntled alums are suing NYLS for publishing allegedly fraudulent employment data about graduates, and how costly the school is.
Now, the latest issue of U.S. News & World Report has dropped NYLS's ranking into no-man's-land: It has fallen below 145th place, meaning that it's now unranked. (Other law schools that have dropped into this category include The John Marshall Law School; Southwestern Law School; the University of Toledo College of Law; and Willamette University College of Law.) (NLJ)
3. Law schools still playing games with job data. The Law School Transparency organization is still on the tail of ABA–accredited law schools to provide more accurate employment data about graduates. And law schools are still far from full compliance. In fact, half of the 199 schools aren't in compliance.
The good news: Almost a quarter of the schools earned a perfect score, "meaning that Law School Transparency found no problems with their ABA–mandated jobs data and that they had voluntarily provided additional data in 10 specific areas." (NLJ)
4. Can Georgetown afford to sneeze at a $7 million donation? A Texas millionaire is suing Georgetown University Law Center to get back the $7.5 million he donated. The reason? Scott Ginsburg alleges that the school reneged about naming a fitness center after him following his conviction for insider trading.
His complaint says: "The possibility of Georgetown finally honoring its obligations was hinted at, implied, suggested, and postponed by its representatives' comments, but always kept alive."
My advice to Georgetown: Just name the stupid gym after Ginsburg. What's the big deal? It's not like he's asking that the ethics center bear his name. (NLJ)
5. Law profs jerks? How shocking. Paul Caron over at TaxProf Blog asks: Are assholes more successful in academia? The answer is so obvious that this almost seems like a trick question. I mean, jerks are generally successful in all fields, so why should academia be any different?
Vivia Chen is the chief blogger for the Careerist, an affiliate of the Daily Business Review.
