Concordia University School of Law is vying to attain national certification by the end of the 2014-15 academic year so that its first class of students, slated to graduate in the spring, can take the bar exam afterward.

One of just two Idaho law schools, Concordia opened in the fall of 2012. Should it miss its goal for provisional approval from the American Bar Association’s government-designated accrediting agency for law schools, the licensing process for students nearing graduation becomes more complex and potentially more expensive. Continue reading →

The killing of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens in 2012 ignited a political firestorm about how well the U.S. protects its personnel, from diplomats to soldiers, serving in dangerous environments abroad.

At Golden Gate University’s law school, it was the genesis of a different movement: supporting veterans who had already completed their military service. The effort begun by Dean Rachel Van Cleave led to the creation of the Veterans Legal Advocacy Center, which brings together a variety of programs to assist veterans pursuing careers in the law and now includes a clinic in which students help veterans obtain health benefits they’re unable to get on their own. Continue reading →

Almost two decades ago, a 21-year-old high school dropout named Jamie Peterson confessed to the brutal rape and murder of a Michigan grandmother whose body had been discovered in the trunk of her car. He got most of the details wrong. Continue reading →

The scenes are pure fiction: A Navy lawyer played by Tom Cruise provoking Jack Nicholson’s ruthless Marine colonel into self-incrimination in “A Few Good Men.”

Julianna Margulies as Chicago attorney Alice Florrek, “The Good Wife,” discrediting witnesses for the opposition with a few well-chosen questions.

Raymond Burr winning virtually every one of his cases in a 1960s black-and-white portrayal of Perry Mason.

But in these cases, art has manipulated life as well as imitated it. Such dramatizations have given thousands of prospective lawyers their first glimpse into the legal profession, enhancing its allure by what the directors show – the drama – and what they leave out – the hours of research and paperwork. Continue reading →

Walk through the entrance to the new Sumner M. Redstone building at Boston University law school and you find yourself in a glass-walled atrium, facing a wall of concrete.

That concrete is more than an architectural flourish: It’s the exterior wall of the 17-story tower that has been the law school’s home since the 1960s. This fall, the tower will be closed for renovation as classes shift to the five-story state-of-the-art structure wrapped around a portion of its base, built to complement the design of the original architect, Josep Lluis Sert. Continue reading →

Think of America’s legal education system as a law-school building, and the package of changes that the American Bar Association approved at its annual meeting this week are like a renovation that changes the form and function of some rooms but leaves the overall structure intact. Continue reading →

Lenni Benson recognizes the parallels between her family’s history and the stories of her Safe Passage Project clients, child immigrants who must navigate a complex legal system to stay in the U.S. after a dangerous journey without their parents.
The youths, many of them from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, are part of a surge in juveniles seeking to cross the U.S. southwestern  border that has prompted calls from Congress for tighter patrols and more aggressive deportation. Continue reading →