Going to law school to get a law degree has become a little like going to an ice-cream parlor for a scoop of vanilla. Plenty of people still do it, but many schools' brochures--like the elaborate flavor-and-topping menus on ice-cream parlor walls--now tempt them with something different, something more. Law students can have their "juris…

The forbidden-laptop zone is territory into which few professors dare tread. Students have been known to protest when laptops are banned from a classroom, and even claim that they are being denied a proper education. Professors who have taken the bold step, though, sound like they've experienced an epiphany. A professor at the University, Don…

In 1871, Christopher Columbus Langdell, a prominent jurist who had joined the law faculty at Harvard University, hit on the idea of compiling thick, imposing "casebooks" with hundreds of appeals-court rulings on particular areas of law--contracts, constitutional law, torts, and others. Today, the hefty tomes and related works have become the…

This article describes how a New York institution gives its students a hands-on education in courtroom wrangling. Unlike medical students, who work in teaching hospitals and clinics as they learn, most law students don't set foot in a courtroom until their third and final year, when they have the option of participating in legal clinics. The Touro…

Interest in Indian law is growing as the economic clout and political influence of the nation's 562 federally recognized tribes have expanded. Arizona State's Indian Legal Program allows students who are pursuing their J.D.'s to simultaneously earn certificates in Indian law. They study the differences between the legal systems of tribes and that…

When New Hampshire's 13 newest lawyers were sworn in to the state bar in May, the ceremony took place a day before they actually graduated from law school. This speedy swearing-in as officers of the court was part of an unorthodox program at the state's only law school, Franklin Pierce Law Center. And while their classmates and thousands of other…

Because today's students are used to a culture of informality, they sometimes show a lack of respect for authority. This article details a workshop presented by two professors from Drake University Law School to educate law students on professionalism and courtesy. Their workshop touched on topics such as public versus private communications and…

Reports on the founding of Ave Maria School of Law (Michigan), opening in 2000, which plans to integrate Catholic teachings into every course. Focus is on the school's founder, Thomas S. Monaghan, and the school's first dean, Bernard Dobranski, who suggest that the new school can avoid difficulties with tenured liberal professors and attract top…

Discusses two law schools that are offering Saturday-Sunday programs, with other schools interested in doing so; accreditors are raising objections, however. (EV)

Describes how the competition for top students for business and law schools has become so fierce that recruiters are perfecting the "hard sell." (EV)

Reports a high demand at law schools for courses on Internet issues, Cyberlaw, but notes that some critics question whether the topic warrants its own specialty. Suggests the appeal is based on intellectual excitement about the burgeoning field, the high technology comfort level of students who grew up with the Internet, and the promise of…

Law reviews, where students control editing and publication, reverse the roles of law students and faculty. Professors complain about article selection and editing practices; students feel burdened with unrealistic expectations. Both parties view the other as arrogant. (MSE)

In recent years, 21 law firms have each donated $1 million or more to law schools for new buildings, programs, and professors. Before 1984, million-dollar donations from law firms were unheard of. While legal educators are delighted, some vocal critics warn that law firms may want to influence curricula, and that donations could undermine the…

A University of Pittsburgh law professor developed an elective course that looks at how society's values are both expressed in literature and interpreted in law. Course topics include property ownership, racism, child and family rights, trust laws, the use of persuasive rhetoric, and violence. (MSE)

For the first time, the American Bar Association has published a law school guide that includes statistics on the percentage of students passing the bar examination on the first try. For schools with low passage rates, the figures are embarrassing; for those with high rates, the guide is a publicity windfall. (MSE)