The legal education beat was a wild ride in 2016. Law schools continued to face pressure from the market and regulators, and dust ups involving everything from a handsy dean to a law school's unfortunate new acronym caught the public's attention. We've rounded up the year's top 10 law school stories. No doubt that legal educators would welcome a less turbulent 2017.
1. The U.S. Department of Education cracks down on the American Bar Association and law schools.
A U.S. Department of Education advisory committee pulled no punches when it met with representatives from the ABA's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar in June, saying the accreditation body has been far too lax on underperforming law schools. It recommended suspending the ABA's long-standing recognition as the accreditor of law schools, though the agency ultimately extended that accrediting status.
But the message came across loud and clear, especially after the Education Department announced in late December that it would cut off federal loans to students at Charlotte School of Law, which it said misrepresented bar pass rates and kept students in the dark about its accreditation challenges. Several students have since filed a class action against the school, and it remains unclear how Charlotte will respond—and whether it will remain open.
2. The ABA cracks down on law schools.
After its spanking by the Education Department, the ABA's Council of the Section of Legal Education came down hard on several law schools it said violated admission rules meant to protect students who are unlikely to succeed in school and the bar exam.
The ABA took action against Charlotte School of Law; Valparaiso University School of Law; and Ave Maria School of Law for admissions violations, and declined to extend provisional accreditation to the fledgling University of North Texas Dallas College of Law on similar grounds. In short, the ABA has put law schools on notice that it's stepping up enforcement of accreditation rules.
7. New names courted controversy.
The late U.S. Supreme court Justice Antonin Scalia had been dead for less than a month when George Mason University announced in April that it would rename its law school in his honor after receiving $30 million from the Charles Koch Foundation and an anonymous donor. Faculty outside the law school and some students and alumni mobilized unsuccessfully against the change, citing Scalia's controversial jurisprudence and public comments. But Internet commenters found another bone to pick: The acronym for the renamed school was ASSLaw, prompting a modest reorganization of the name. | 
