Brian Leiter's Law School Reports

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.

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.)

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 roughly 75% or more of their citations (based on a sample) are in this area are listed; others with less than 75% of their citations in this field (but still a plurality) are listed in the category of "other highly cited scholars who work partly in this area." 

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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 cover herself in glory in my opinion.  Professor Vladeck comments here (which also includes a link to a video of the panel), although I disagree with the idea that non-conservatives should not participate in Federalist Society events.  This one was instructive, and not in the way Judge Jones intended it to be.

 

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 market square for exchanging information has suffered its largest exodus to date.

Bluesky, emerging as X’s newest rival, has amassed 16 million users, including 1 million in the course of 24 hours last week. Hundreds of thousands of people have quit the former Twitter since Donald Trump’s election victory on 6 November.

The catalyst is X’s owner, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who transformed the social media site and used it as a megaphone to blast Trump into the White House.

 

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 rounded to the nearest ten.    Faculty for whom roughly 75% or more of their citations (based on a sample) are in this area are listed; others with less than 75% of their citations in this field (but still a plurality) are listed in the category of "other highly cited scholars who work partly in this area." 

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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 roughly 75% or more of their citations (based on a sample) are in this area are listed; others with less than 75% of their citations in this field (but still a plurality) are listed in the category of "other highly cited scholars who work partly in this area." 

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

For those who might be interested.

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.

 

$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.)