For-Profit Law Schools Inspired John Grisham's Latest Book. Here's Why.
“The Rooster Bar” is John Grisham's new book, and it's a sharp jab at for-profit law schools for exacerbating the enormous debt load law students are shouldering.
October 27, 2017 at 03:42 PM
8 minute read
|
“The Rooster Bar” is John Grisham's new book, and it's a sharp jab at for-profit law schools for exacerbating the enormous debt load law students are shouldering. The Foggy Bottom Law School is the focus of his novel, which, thankfully, is fictitious. But here's a look at the real-deals accredited by the American Bar Association, some of which Grisham has said inspired his newly published work. Read on, and you'll see why.
Arizona Summit Law School
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, J.D. Required Jobs: 38%*
Graduating Class Size: 221
The bar pass rate at the Phoenix-based school for the July exam was 26 percent, according to news website AZCentral. The statewide pass rate in Arizona was 69 percent. The ABA put the school on accreditation probation in March for its admissions practices and academics standards. The school is affiliated with nonprofit Bethune-Cookman University.
Atlanta's John Marshall Law School
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, J.D. Required Jobs: 35%
Graduating Class Size: 143
Earlier this month, the ABA sent the school a letter informing the school that it was “significantly out of compliance” with accreditation requirements, specifically admissions policies, according to Above the Law. The school's student loan default rate in 2014 was among the highest among free-standing law schools, at 2.3 percent, the ABA Journal reported last month.
Charleston School of Law
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, J.D. Required Jobs: 53%
Graduating Class Size: 141
In January, the school was identified by the ABA as failing on the Department of Education's “gainful employment” list, imperiling its access to federal student loan money. It was removed from the “naughty list” in June, the Post Courier reported.
Charlotte School of Law
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, J.D. Required Jobs: 24%
Graduating Class Size: 340
Closed since August, the school is defending three class actions brought by former students who claim it misrepresented its ABA accreditation status and bar pass rates. Those cases were consolidated earlier this month in North Carolina, Bloomberg reported. At least 20 related state cases involving more 80 individual plaintiffs are pending.
Florida Coastal School of Law
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, J.D. Required Jobs: 36%
Graduating Class Size: 299
Like Atlanta's John Marshall, Florida Coastal also received a letter this month from the ABA about its failure to comply with accreditation standards, including admissions policies, Above the Law reported. On the July Florida bar exam, 51.3 percent of its grads passed. The average Florida pass rate was 71.3.
Western State College of Law at Argosy University
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, JD Required Jobs: 33%
Graduating Class Size: 91
The Irvine, Calif., school received a “zone” rating by the Department of Education in January, meaning that it came close to missing the department's “gainful employment” test. The school must pass that test at least once in the next four years to remain in the government's good graces, Above the Law reported.
*Employment statistics are from the ABA and are based on 2016 graduates.
|
“The Rooster Bar” is John Grisham's new book, and it's a sharp jab at for-profit law schools for exacerbating the enormous debt load law students are shouldering. The Foggy Bottom Law School is the focus of his novel, which, thankfully, is fictitious. But here's a look at the real-deals accredited by the American Bar Association, some of which Grisham has said inspired his newly published work. Read on, and you'll see why.
Arizona Summit Law School
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, J.D. Required Jobs: 38%*
Graduating Class Size: 221
The bar pass rate at the Phoenix-based school for the July exam was 26 percent, according to news website AZCentral. The statewide pass rate in Arizona was 69 percent. The ABA put the school on accreditation probation in March for its admissions practices and academics standards. The school is affiliated with nonprofit Bethune-Cookman University.
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, J.D. Required Jobs: 35%
Graduating Class Size: 143
Earlier this month, the ABA sent the school a letter informing the school that it was “significantly out of compliance” with accreditation requirements, specifically admissions policies, according to Above the Law. The school's student loan default rate in 2014 was among the highest among free-standing law schools, at 2.3 percent, the ABA Journal reported last month.
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, J.D. Required Jobs: 53%
Graduating Class Size: 141
In January, the school was identified by the ABA as failing on the Department of Education's “gainful employment” list, imperiling its access to federal student loan money. It was removed from the “naughty list” in June, the Post Courier reported.
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, J.D. Required Jobs: 24%
Graduating Class Size: 340
Closed since August, the school is defending three class actions brought by former students who claim it misrepresented its ABA accreditation status and bar pass rates. Those cases were consolidated earlier this month in North Carolina, Bloomberg reported. At least 20 related state cases involving more 80 individual plaintiffs are pending.
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, J.D. Required Jobs: 36%
Graduating Class Size: 299
Like Atlanta's John Marshall, Florida Coastal also received a letter this month from the ABA about its failure to comply with accreditation standards, including admissions policies, Above the Law reported. On the July Florida bar exam, 51.3 percent of its grads passed. The average Florida pass rate was 71.3.
Western State College of Law at Argosy University
Grads with Full-time, Long Term, JD Required Jobs: 33%
Graduating Class Size: 91
The Irvine, Calif., school received a “zone” rating by the Department of Education in January, meaning that it came close to missing the department's “gainful employment” test. The school must pass that test at least once in the next four years to remain in the government's good graces, Above the Law reported.
*Employment statistics are from the ABA and are based on 2016 graduates.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
'What Is Certain Is Uncertainty': Patchwork Title IX Rules Face Expected Changes in Second Trump Administration
5 minute read
'No Evidence'?: Big Law Firms Defend Academic Publishers in EDNY Antitrust Case
3 minute read
Law Firms Are Turning to Online Training Platforms as Apprenticeship Model Falters
'Substantive Deficiencies': Judge Grants Big Law Motion Dismissing Ivy League Price-Fixing Claims
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Gibson Dunn Sued By Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
- 2Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 3Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 4Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 5Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
