Friday, August 30, 2013

President's Call for a 2-Year Law Degree

President Barack Obama’s comments last week that law school should be limited to two years is drawing reaction from both sides of the issue. A number of law professors praised discussion on the idea, but most of those blogging about the concept found fault with it. Berkeley Law professor Dan Farber warned that a two-year program would not leave time for specialized courses, such as environmental law, that are not tested on bar exams. Albany Law School professor Mary Lynch suggested the president is confusing unpaid interning with a true clinical experience, and that he does not understand that clients no longer want to pay for on-the-job training of new attorneys. And Matt Bodie with the Saint Louis University School of Law argued the idea would not automatically lower tuition as schools could just increase the cost per credit hour. Read a wrap up of reactions at TaxProf Blog.

The source of this is the TBA Today by the Tennessee Bar Association.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Child Custody and Property Division

In the case of Terri Ann Kelly v. Willard Reed Kelly, Terri Ann Kelly ("Wife") was awarded 1000% of the marital assets by the Trial Court. She had sued Willard Reed Kelly ("Husband") for divorce after 18 years of marriage and was awarded custody of the parties' son, Will. She was also awarded attorney's fees. The Court of Appeals, though, modified the Trial Court's division of the marital estate and alimony to Wife, giving her 300%.

The full case can be found here.