In a recent report, President Joe Biden was mentioned claiming to have received a standing ovation during a law school cold call. In the legal community, there’s been a noticeable amount of skepticism about the truth of that statement.
The concerns are especially relevant given the broader context of today’s legal education standards and practices. Consider, for example, the circumstances of Cooley Law School, which according to the same report, is struggling with low bar passage rates, an issue of significant consequences that the American Bar Association might need to address at some point.
The subject matter also touched on the controversial topic of politicized judicial forum shopping. Concretely, the report suggested that some conservative justices may be revealing their preferences more often than usual when it comes to forum shopping—a judicial practice typically frowned upon by the legal profession.
Though these topics might seem far-flung, they highlight the interconnections between politics, legal education, judiciary practice, and broader socio-legal issues. On many fronts, such developments raise crucial questions for legal professionals about the future states of law school education, bar examination, courthouse practices, and judicial behaviors.