Brian Leiter’s Law School Reports

News and views about law school and law

  • Law professors suing Trump

    Law professors Mark Lemley, Mark McKenna, and Christopher Sprigman are among the lawyers representing plaintiffs in the latest legal action against the lawless Trump.

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  • “Citation rings”?

    A colleague elsewhere reports that "a younger scholar this morning…told me that mid-level people are forming these rings to cite one another where they kind of cross-commit to do it to boost their citation count."  I don't know if this hearsay within hearsay is reliable or misleading, but permit me to observe that it would…

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  • More on Trump’s lawlessness, this time the attack on NIH funding

    Here and here.  Relatively few law professors get NIH funding, but if the funds are illegally withheld then almost every university (and certainly every one with a medical school) will be thrown into financial turmoil, and the effects will be felt everywhere.  (For more on Trump's lawlessness, see Professor Bagenstos's analysis.)

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  • Trump is the Holmesian “Bad Man” on steroids

    Here.

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  • More on the LSU law academic freedom case

    MOVING TO FRONT FROM JANUARY 30–VARIOUS UPDATES ON THE CASE AT THE LINK, BELOW Here.

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  • Trump’s unlawful impoundment of federal monies

    Here.

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  • Hawaii, LSU embroiled in academic freedom problems

    The Hawaii case is clear-cut:  the law school acted wrongfully and violated the academic freedom rights of the professor.  The administrators at the University of Hawaii need a lesson in core AAUP academic freedom principles.  The LSU case is ambiguous at this stage, but highly suspicious.  Faculty do not have a right to discuss unrelated…

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  • Informative piece on the Katherine Franke case in the Washington Post

    Here.  From the end of the article: The letter giving that finding [of having violated the anti-discrimination policy] made no recommendation as to punishment. That would be for Franke’s dean to decide. But Franke knew, in that moment, that she wouldn’t wait to find out. It was no longer possible for her to function as…

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  • Amy Wax sues Penn in federal court

    The complaint is here.  According to the first paragraph: This suit principally challenges the speech policies of the University of Pennsylvania, which (1) are racially discriminatory, discriminating based on the race and/or protected class of both speakers and the subjects of the speech, and (2) violate core principles of the First Amendment, which the University…

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  • More on the Franke case

    Steven Lubet, an emeritus law professor at Northwestern, has a piece at CHE with the unfortunate title, "No, Katherine Franke was not fired," which presumably was not his doing.  It's an unfortuante title since, as Professor Lubet fully acknowledges, "There is no way to know the details of Franke’s negotiation with the Columbia administration, which…

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  • More than 50 Columbia Law faculty call for a University Senate investigation regarding the treatment of Katherine Franke

    The full letter is here:  Download CLS faculty letter re Franke case As the letter aptly states: We do not know the full details of Franke’s disciplinary case; we hold a wide range of views on the recent protests, the University’s response, and the underlying conflict in the Middle East; and we have no common…

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  • What articles in general jurisprudence from the first quarter-century of the 21st-century should you read?

    Readers who want to keep abreast of what's going on in general jurisprudence (questions about law "in general," i.e., the nature of law and legal reasoning, the relationship between law and morality) occasionally ask what articles they should read from the "recent" literature or from the 21st-century.  I thought I'd check Google Scholar citations, and…

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  • Columbia law professor Katherine Franke forced to retire

    The NYT story is here, which recounts the relevant events precipitating this rather shocking outcome: A smelly substance had been released on pro-Palestinian students during a rally demanding the university divest from Israel. One student who was suspended in connection with the incident — and who subsequently sued the university — was identified as a…

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  • In Memoriam: Henry P. Monaghan (1934-2025)

    Professor Monaghan, who taught for more than forty years at Columbia Law School (and, before that, at Boston and Cornell Universities), was a leading authority on constitutional law and federal courts.  The CLS memorial notice is here.

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  • In Memoriam: George L. Priest (1947-2024)

    Professor Priest, a leading figure in law and economics, taught for many years at Yale, and before that at UCLA and the University of Puget Sound.  The Yale memorial notice is here. (Thanks to Daniel Crane for the pointer.)

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  • Law professors reading Marx

    A nice note from a law professor elsewhere: I wanted to pass on a note thanking you for your marvelous book with Jaime Edwards on Marx. The explanation of ideas is lucid and exactly what this non-expert needed as a clear and comprehensive introduction. Like many, I have read at one time the Manifesto and bits…

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  • Decline in Black and Hispanic students at elite law schools in the wake of SCOTUS decision

    Some details here.  Corporate America's commitment to "diversity" still seems to be strong, which leads me to think that insofar as clients demand "diverse" teams of attorneys from law firms, law firms will recruit more aggressively at schools outside the top ranks to find suitable candidates.  (I was amused the reporter used the even more…

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  • Projecting next year’s USNews.com law school rankings

    Derek Muller offers another prognosis, based on the existing formula and the public data.  Fluctuations in reputation scores, which do occur, will change the final results.  One thing we know from the past is that the "overall" rankings starts to influence the reputational survey rankings.   Will this start to affect schools like Columbia and NYU…

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  • Amy Wax threatens to sue Penn if the sanctions are not lifted

    Here's the lawyer's letter.  The breach of contract claim is straightforward, and she should prevail on it given the AAUP principles to which the university has committed itself:  as I've noted before, the University has made clear they are punishing her for her lawful but offensive extramural speech.   The letter's claim of race discrimination strikes…

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  • 20 most cited International Law/National Security/Foreign Affairs Law faculty in the U.S., 2019-2023

    Based on the latest Sisk data, here are the twenty most-cited law faculty working in international law, national security law and/or foreign affairs law in the U.S. for the period 2019-2023 (inclusive) (remember that the data was collected in late May/early June of 2024, and that the pre-2024 database did expand a bit since then). …

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  • Total law school applicants up 25% this year (and applications are up 35%)!

    A "Trump bump" no doubt!  This is good news for those who expect to be looking for law teaching jobs next year:  since most schools are tuition-dependent, a significant increase in applicants means schools can plan to hire.

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  • In Memoriam: Joan Shaughnessy (1953-2024)

    Professor Shaughnessy, well-known for her work in civil procedure, taught for nearly forty years at Washington & Lee University, where she was emerita.  There is an obituary here.

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  • What’s going on at St. Thomas in Miami?

    This account comes from a lawyer for the plaintiff, but the allegations recounted are rather concerning!  (Earlier coverage.) (Thanks to Paul Caron for calling this to my attention.)

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  • 10 most-cited Health Law faculty in the U.S., 2019-2023 (CORRECTED)

    Based on the latest Sisk data, here are the ten most-cited health law faculty in the U.S. for the period 2019-2023 (inclusive) (remember that the data was collected in late May/early June of 2024, and that the pre-2024 database did expand a bit since then).  Numbers are rounded to the nearest ten.    Faculty for whom…

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  • Jones v. Vladeck

    Apparently things got a little heated at a panel on judicial independence at the Federalist Society national meeting last week.  Judge Edith Jones of the 5th Circuit took exception to Professor Steve Vladeck's criticisms of judge-shopping, especially vis-a-vis "the Supreme Court of Amarillo," as it's known on Twitter/X in lawprof circles.  Judge Jones did not…

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  • I’m moving from Twitter/X to Bluesky

    If you use X or similar social media to follow the blog, please follow me there.  Thank you. ADDENDUM:  Here's why you should move too:   Musk is manipulating the algorithms on his platform in service of Trump and the Republicans. ANOTHER:  Join the exodus to Bluesky: The platform formerly regarded [by ignoramuses-ed.] as a utopian…

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  • 15 most cited Law & Economics faculty in the U.S., 2019-2023 (CORRECTED)

    Based on the latest Sisk data, here are the fifteen most-cited law faculty in law & economics (including behavioral law & economics) in the U.S. for the period 2019-2023 (inclusive) (remember that the data was collected in late May/early June of 2024, and that the pre-2024 database did expand a bit since then).  Numbers are…

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  • 10 most-cited Election Law faculty in the U.S., 2019-2023 (CORRECTED)

    Based on the latest Sisk data, here are the ten most-cited election law faculty in the U.S. for the period 2019-2023 (inclusive) (remember that the data was collected in late May/early June of 2024, and that the pre-2024 database did expand a bit since then).  Numbers are rounded to the nearest ten.    Faculty for whom…

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  • The study of philosophy in law schools, and JD/PhDs in philosophy, 2024 edition

    For those who might be interested.

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  • AALS Faculty Study

    Coming soon.  I'll be participating in an online webinar on November 20 with BU Dean Onwuachi-Willig, AALS President and Dean Melanie Wilson, and LSAC CEO Kellye Testy about the report.  Research Katie Kempner will also present an overview of the study findings.  

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  • $45 million estate bequest to University of Washington’s law school

    A substantial gift, although fairly narrowly targetted in its purpose. (Thanks to Rob Grant for the pointer.)

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  • UC San Francisco (formerly Hastings) sees huge increase in applications…

    …thanks, it appears, to its most famous alumna.  Now I wonder whether Trump had a similar effect on Wharton applications?

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  • “Law and Historical Materialism”

    An interesting symposium at Jack Balkin's blog on a recent paper by legal historian Jeremy Kessler.  I found the contributions by Benkler and Syed most interesting, albeit misguided, and I thought Professor Kessler's responses were judicious and sensible.  Professor Kessler has done a real service in debunking the CLS critique of Marx, which was never taken…

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  • 10 most-cited Labor & Employment Law faculty in the U.S., 2019-2023

    Based on the latest Sisk data, here are the ten most-cited labor and/or employment law faculty in the U.S. for the period 2019-2023 (inclusive) (remember that the data was collected in late May/early June of 2024, and that the pre-2024 database did expand a bit since then).  Numbers are rounded to the nearest ten.    Faculty…

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  • Trends in lateral hiring, 2019-2024

    Lawprof Derek Muller analyzes data from this blog.  It would be interesting to see how the lateral numbers compare to faculty size.  Bear in mind, too, that a school like Harvard, which had "zero" lateral moves from Harvard to another school in the last five years, did have many retirements, and sometimes lateral hires are…

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  • 10 most cited Family Law faculty in the U.S., 2019-2023 (CORRECTED AGAIN)

    Based on the latest Sisk data, here are the ten most-cited family law faculty in the U.S. for the period 2019-2023 (inclusive) (remember that the data was collected in late May/early June of 2024, and that the pre-2024 database did expand a bit since then).  Numbers are rounded to the nearest ten.    Faculty for whom…

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  • 18% surge in registration for the LSAT

    A good sign for law schools, but also for those seeking law teaching jobs going forward.

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  • NY law firm drops client, Columbia lawprof Katherine Franke, when her views attract public criticism…

    …and the partner who was representing Professor Franke quits the firm, while Profesor Frank has filed an ethics complaint with the NY Bar.  Pretty slimy way to treat a client!

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  • 10 most-cited Legal History faculty in U.S. law schools, 2019-2023 (2nd CORRECTION)

    Based on the latest Sisk data, here are the ten most-cited U.S. law faculty writing on legal history for the period 2019-2023 (inclusive) (remember that the data was collected in late May/early June of 2024, and that the pre-2024 database did expand a bit since then).  Numbers are rounded to the nearest ten.    Faculty for…

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  • JD/PhDs by PhD field

    Andrew Granato, a JD/PhD student at Yale, has compiled data from PrawfsBlog about all PhDs hired in law schools over the last 15 years, more or less.   This includes folks hired into non-US law schools. Here's the breakdown by PhD discipline: Political Science (71) Economics (65) History (59) Philosophy (48) Sociology (32) STEM fields (19)…

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