Law Schools | Virginia Lawyers Weekly

UR law clinic finishes work with Sands Anderson’s help

By Sarah Rodriguez
Published: May 7, 2012
Tags: Law Firms, Law Schools

When University of Richmond law professor John Carroll passed away suddenly this past March, the fate of the legal clinic he founded hung in the balance.
With only five weeks left in the semester, the eight law students involved in the Intellectual Property and Transactional Law Clinic were left without a leader to oversee their work [...]

W&M dean explains drop in U.S. News rankings

By Peter Vieth
Published: March 29, 2012
Tags: Law Schools

The College of William & Mary law school sank eight spots in the annual rankings compiled by U.S. News & World Report, and the school’s dean says the drop is due to the number of graduates who are unemployed.
Dean Davison M. Douglas said the lower rank is tied to the number of students employed nine [...]

‘Supreme Court 101’ in session at high court

By The Associated Press
Published: March 1, 2012
Tags: Law Schools, U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) George Mason University law student Matthew Long still has three months of schoolwork before graduation, but this week he and two classmates had a case before the Supreme Court.
The group of students is part of a new class dedicated to Supreme Court work at the Fairfax school. Nationwide, more than a half dozen [...]

Looking back on 2011: The year in legal news

By Paul Fletcher and Peter Vieth
Published: December 12, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, General Assembly, Gov. Bob McDonnell, Judge Edward Hogshire, Judge Thomas D. Horne, Justice Cleo E. Powell, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr., Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr., Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn, Law Schools, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Sanctions, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Virginia State Bar

The reversal of a 20-year-old noncompete case lead the case news from Virginia Lawyers in 2011. Much of the first half of year featured news from the General Assembly.
Officials at the Virginia State Bar sparred with legislators over $5 million that Gov. Bob McDonnell wanted to take. And the Hernandez case – which allowed judges [...]

At debt’s doorstep

By Peter Vieth
Published: December 5, 2011
Tags: Law Schools

Anyone considering law school should take an unflinching look at themselves and what they hope to do with a law degree, experts say. Enticements for those considering a law school education remain as strong as ever, despite the worst job market for lawyers since the mid-1990s and declining salaries for new lawyers.
That said, law school [...]

Breyer pays tribute to Merhige at UR law school

By The Associated Press
Published: October 7, 2011
Tags: Law Schools, U.S. Supreme Court

Unlike politicians, judges cannot let popularity influence their decisions, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer said Thursday.
“Congress is the expert on popularity,” Breyer told an invitation-only gathering of lawyers, judges and academics at the University of Richmond School of Law.
Breyer spoke at a ceremony dedicating the law school’s moot courtroom in memory of the [...]

Bucking the trend

By Alan Cooper
Published: August 1, 2011
Tags: Law Schools

Law school applications are down about 10 percent from last year, nationwide and in the commonwealth.
But two Virginia law schools – the University of Richmond and Regent University – are bucking that trend.
Applications at UR are up 13 percent this year. That increase coincides with a substantial bump in the school’s ranking by U.S. News [...]

Moon dismisses challenge to new health care law

By Peter Vieth
Published: December 1, 2010
Tags: Federal Courts, Health Care Bill, Judge Norman K. Moon, Law Schools

U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon of Lynchburg dismissed a challenge to President Obama’s health care plan last week.
In a 54-page opinion, Moon rejected the argument by Liberty University lawyers that the Constitution’s Commerce Clause bars any law requiring most Americans to obtain medical coverage.
“I hold that there is a rational basis for Congress to [...]

Reality Check

By Peter Vieth
Published: November 29, 2010
Tags: Law Schools

The decline in the job market for law school graduates has generated a bitter backlash against the business of legal education.
Law schools are being accused of running Ponzi schemes and worse as students claim they were lured into expensive programs that leave them with only a mountain of debt and a useless degree.
The criticism may [...]

Virginia law firms are hiring, but at lower pay and in lower numbers

By Alan Cooper
Published: November 22, 2010
Tags: Law Firms, Law Schools, New Lawyers

New lawyers entering the job market are still having a rough time finding full-time legal work.
The results from our annual New Associates’ Salary Survey are in, and the picture isn’t great, but at least it’s better than last year.
The hiring profile of Reed Smith LLP, the Pennsylvania-based international law firm with offices in both Richmond [...]

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