Karen Sloan

Karen Sloan is the Legal Education Editor and Senior Writer at ALM. Contact her at [email protected]. On Twitter: @KarenSloanNLJ Sign up for Ahead of the Curve—her weekly email update on trends and innovation in legal education—here: https://www.law.com/briefings/ahead-of-the-curve/

Connect with this author

April 01, 2021 | Law.com

This Public Defender Just Got $275,000 in Law School Loans Forgiven. Here's How.

The federal government's Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is intended to spur people to pursue government and public service careers, but successfully navigating the red tape has proven difficult for many borrowers.

By Karen Sloan

7 minute read

April 01, 2021 | National Law Journal

COVID-19 Blew Up the Bar Exam. Even Bigger Changes Are Coming.

The J.D. class of 2025 will most likely have to take the bar exam before they can practice, but that exam may bear little resemblance to the test law graduates take now.

By Karen Sloan

10 minute read

March 31, 2021 | New York Law Journal

Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Speak at Columbia Law Graduation

The United States' top diplomat has a hard act to follow: Last year's Columbia Law grads heard from now-President Joe Biden.

By Karen Sloan

2 minute read

March 31, 2021 | Law.com

'There Is Greatness Across Law Schools': Biden's First Court Picks Venture Beyond the T-14

Four of the 11 judicial nominees the White House unveiled Tuesday graduated from non-elite law schools. Scholars have long noted the dominance of top law schools such as Harvard and Yale on the federal bench.

By Karen Sloan

6 minute read

March 30, 2021 | Law.com

Ahead of the Curve: Inside the US News Rankings Drama

This week's Ahead of the Curve unpacks the turmoil surrounding this year's U.S. News & World Report law school rankings and what that tells us about the stranglehold those rankings have over legal education.

By Karen Sloan

8 minute read

March 30, 2021 | Law.com

The US News Law School Rankings Are Here, But Has Their Credibility Taken a Hit?

The new rankings have some familiar names at the top, a new student debt metric and the first-ever HBCU law school in the top 100.

By Karen Sloan

8 minute read

March 29, 2021 | Law.com

US News' Rough Year Just Got Worse: Law School Rankings Changed a Third Time

Problems with a metric related to law librarian teaching prompted U.S. News to change the overall law schools ranking just two days before its official release.

By Karen Sloan

4 minute read

March 26, 2021 | Law.com

'My Child Is Interrupting Me Right Now.' The Challenges of Lawyering and Parenting in a Pandemic

This week's Legal Speak podcast features Sidley Austin partner and mother of two Corin Swift discussing how parenting amid a pandemic has upended her work life.

By Karen Sloan | Zack Needles

2 minute read

March 25, 2021 | Law.com

US News Makes Last-Minute Changes to Law School Rankings, Fueling Criticism and Concern

Legal educators are decrying what they see as multiple missteps by U.S. News & World Report in its handling of the upcoming law school rankings.

By Karen Sloan

7 minute read

March 24, 2021 | Law.com

'A More Diverse Conversation': Why It Matters That More Law Journals Are Electing Black Editors

A record number of first-ever Black editors-in-chief of flagship law reviews will likely prompt more diverse law students to seek leadership roles and will help expand the authors and topics that get published.

By Karen Sloan

7 minute read

More from ALM

Legal Speak is a weekly podcast that makes sense of what’s happening in the legal industry.