The theft of research data from a prominent University of Minnesota law professor has put almost 300 people at risk of identity theft, university officials said today. Professor Barry Feld said the February 2013 theft of a laptop, hard drive and scanner from under his secretary’s desk involved information such as names, dates of birth, Read more →
Lawyers are problem-solvers, so when the number of students applying and enrolling at law schools started to decline quite dramatically in the last several years as a result of the economic downturn, the lawyers who run these schools had to figure out a way to solve the problem. The Twin Cities’ four law schools have not been immune to this nationwide issue. Since 2010, the number of law school applications has declined, and enrollment is down anywhere from 15 to 42 percent in just the last three years. Read more →
The University of St. Thomas School of Law said today it’s freezing tuition next fall — and implementing a de-facto tuition cut — making it one of a handful of private Minnesota higher-ed institutions in the past few years to announce such moves. (Close to 30 colleges and universities have done the same around the Read more →
In reporting how the national law-school admissions slump has been affecting Minnesota law schools, I put a call in to David Wippman, dean of law school at the University of Minnesota. He said applications are down about 9 percent this year, and have been falling for the past three years or so. So far about Read more →
The national law-school slump has hit the University of St. Thomas School of Law as it has many others, but Dean Rob Vischer says its endowment should keep it solid for years to come. The school was built for 150 students per class, he says, and has been a above or below that number through Read more →
Back in January 2011 as well as last February, MinnPost wrote about (and localized) the law-school slump that the Wall Street Journal and Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal have just discussed. (Note: The WSJ article is behind a paywall.) Here’s what it had to say about the local scene at the time: Minnesota’s law schools Read more →
The Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal discusses a Wall Street Journal article that lists Hamline University‘s law school as one of many across the nation making cuts in the face of declining enrollment. It reports that the school has cut its full-time faculty by 18 percent since 2010. Retirement-related attrition is reducing the numbers even more. The Journal Read more →
Just got this announcement from the University of Minnesota. I’m not usually one to post about donations, but this is sizable — and comes on the heels of the Dream Act. Robina Foundation pledges $9 million to University of Minnesota Law School – Funding to Provide Additional Support for Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Read more →
The University of St. Thomas is apologizing on its Web site for giving incorrect grad-employment data to U.S. News and World Report, which released its rankings earlier this week. It says it caught the error itself: It has come to our attention that U.S. News published an inaccurate employment at graduation statistic for the UST Read more →
TommieMedia reporter Patrick Roche warns that those thinking of going to law school should think again, considering some sobering local figures: St. Thomas law students graduate with around $97,000 in debt. At the University of Minnesota Law, average debt is around $91,000. Everyone seems to think lawyers get paid the big bucks. Given the fact Read more →
Alex Friedrich
Trisha Volpe