The Charleston School Of Law Needs An Asterisk January 11, 2008
Posted by fitsnews in : SC Politics , trackback
JUST LIKE BARRY BONDS, PEOPLE
FITSNews - January 11, 2008 - We were forwarded a copy of the Charleston School of Law’s January 2008 Newsletter this morning and couldn’t help but notice school officials taking credit for the fact that 70% of their students passed the 2007 bar exam here in South Carolina. Well, most of it anyway.
From the newsletter:
Of the graduates from the Charleston School of Law’s first class who took the South Carolina Bar examination in July, 70 percent passed, school officials said. They added that the passage rate was outstanding for a new law school. Graduates also passed Bar exams in five other states.
“The overall performance by our graduates on the state Bar exam is a testament to our law school’s ability to provide a quality legal education,” Dean Richard Gershon said in October. “Typically, graduates from founding classes of new law schools do not perform as well as our students did. We are gratified by this result, but the Charleston School of Law expects continuous improvement as it fulfills its mission to train outstanding lawyers for the future.”
We’re sure somebody took a long time to write that, but the truth is it’s complete and total bullshit. What the Charleston School of Law should truly be “gratified” about is the fact that the South Carolina Supreme Court suspiciously threw out an entire section of the state bar exam last year, artificially inflating their graduation rate to (surprise) the precise figure required by the American Bar Association for accreditation purposes - a move that’s potentially worth millions to the school’s owners.
That’s too bad, too, because 65.1% of the school’s graduates actually passed the bar exam without any help from our ethically-challenged judicial branch.
Anyway, if you’re keeping score at home, be sure to put an asterisk by that 70% figure … because that’s what you do when performance-enhancers are used to achieve a milestone.
Comments»
We were forward? Nice English…
you really need to get over yourself here….they threw out a section, they have done it before, as they saw fit, regardless if you agree or not they have that right as the overseer, much like the mentally and ethically challeneged general assembly has the right to overide the mentally, physically (some staffers), and spineless office of the governor, and the governor has the right to remove officials by executive order, when that person’s mommy won’t carry out the gov’s wishes….
Jared,
You are our ambassador of spellcheck, man. Thanks.
-FITSNews
CSOL the biggest joke of all time. Way too much $$$, most grads are maybe making $40k…all with massive loans taken out to pay the school’s private Owners. They spin EVERYTHING they put out. There results even with the help from the SC is a diaster. Do you think it is wise to spend $150k for a 65% chance to make $40k. One day the school will be shown for what it is - a rip off for students and profit maker for the guys that own it. I love the “Public Service” thing too. You can not believe a word from them.
Haha! CSOL is so horrible. This is very funny. They are the greatest spin machine of all time.
I hope Alex Sanders makes $50 million off this little business of his.
“Graduates also passed Bar exams in five other states.” I head they went 1 for 5 in NC. 20% is great.
Thanks, Willie. Read the newsletter. It said that Kaye Hearn is now on the Board of Advisors down there? Isn’t she like, running - again - to be a Justice of the Supreme Corrupt Court? Wouldn’t that be just a little bit of a conflict? Being private and all, do the Board of Advisors get paid to show up at the meetings like at other private companies?
USC Law = 91% bar passage rate at a little more than half the cost.
USC Law is such a great 3rd tier law school. Or has it dropped another tier again?
USC Law = Third Tier Law School and Dropping Fast
Is the Supreme Court corrupt because - according to you guys - the two law schools are that bad? Or are the law schools that bad because the Supreme Court is corrupt? Just wondering.
Hey, sounds like a little competition between the 2 could be a good thing for the state.
SC Lawyer–If you’re going to double post, the least you can do is get your facts right. USC is ranked 91, which means it is in U.S. News’s second tier. See http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawrank_brief.php
USC @ 91st? Big deal. Being a graduate of USC Law, I should probably be satisfied with that level of mediocrity, too. Anyway, if it has scratched its way back into the very bottom of the second tier, big deal. It will probably be back in the third tier again soon and our diploma will be that much less valuable again. That says a lot for it having been the only law school in the state for over a century, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, that’s the problem with a monopoly. The consumer ultimately loses.
@ Skeptic: If you’re going to brag about something as lame as a 91st ranking in the bottom of the second tier, please don’t bother. I went to USC Law, so sorry if I’m not completely thrilled, as you apparently are, about the mediocrity there. USC may have scratched its way back to a glorious 91st ranking, but I’m sure it will slip back to the third tier again soon. And there goes the value of our diplomas along with it. That’s the lesson of monopolies. They provide poor service to the consumer.
Bob - you may be correct, but I understand that Charleston Law is far more flexible with its classes, so working professionals can attend. If this is true - provided they retain their accreditation - if one wishes to pursue their JD and they don’t have a well-heeled (often attorney) mommy and daddy to pay their way, it’s either twice the price or not at all.
I know there’s a lot to be said for CSOL being not up to snuff, but give it time. If USC Law wasn’t so exclusive, and our state’s legal profession so incestuous, then maybe, just maybe, CSOL wouldn’t be an issue right now.
I know this doesn’t go over well in some circles, but us little people have got a right to pursue a legal career as well, and those people at the top ain’t so much better than the rest of us.
SC Lawyer–That’s quite a couple of harsh responses you made, especially considering there’s nothing remotely close to bragging in my post. Read, read again, then post.
Whah, whah, whah. So our law schools suck, great. Maybe SCLawyer will encourage his/her kids to so something else with their lives.. We have quite enough lawyers in this state anyway. Also, just a thought, why don’t some of you USC illumni take some initiative to make the school better, rather than giving all this self-righteous, self-interested whining about the value of your law degree. And who gives a sh*t if you’re not satisfied with mediocrity. If all you’re doing is sitting on your ass and whining then you’re just part of the problem. USC law has one of the worst participating illumni support records in the country. So be part of the solution, shut up, or get the f&*k out. And if you really want answers as to why you’re a sh*tty lawyer, check out that retangular thing above your bathroom sink..
Damn! CSOL must be really raising those once dormant insecurities of some of you uninformed USC posters…..kind of scary having to earn that position that you thought mommy and daddy had in the bag for you! COMPETITION got you losing sleep????? Cry me a friggin river why don’t cha!
Well, I say…. keep on doing that um, “public service thingy” CSOL- it sets apart those who really understand the practice of law and those who pretend to do so!
On a serious note- stop embodying the biggest disadvantage SC as a state has; a fear of change (see civil war, see civil rights movement, see that ugly confederate flag on the state house, etc…)
yeah………. I went there!
Go CSOL! GO CSOL! GO CSOL! You obviously have become “somebody”, Fitz “fake” news can’t seem to bring themselves to stop writing about you! Keep em coming! Hell, thanks to Fitz news, people now know, that there is another law school besides that joke of a law school thats done nothing more than plummet in the rankings” Here’s your ass–ter–ick Fitz news *****RIP USC-Law! Gone and Forgotten*******
Let’s not get cocky #18, CSOL sucks too. If anything, ITS the school of the rich mommy and daddies who can afford to buy their kid a law degree even though he/she f*cked off in college. And, for the record, anyone that refers to a school’s mission as a “thingy” and uses the word “cha” instead of “you,” should be officially barred from making any kind of judgment call on the value of a particular school’s education.
FITS News is obviously biased against CSOL. Why is USC Law making such a big deal about CSOL if it sucks so bad? To me it sounds like USC Law is just getting nervous and scared because they know CSOL is better. One more note, I think it would be worth it to pay more money to go to CSOL to get better facilities, Charleston, and the beach as opposed to getting cancer from the asbestos, window-less prison and from drinking USC Law’s lead poisoned water. Who is the author of these CSOL stories anyway? Why doesn’t someone get another news source to condcut an investigation into Fits News and its writers to determine any affiliations and supporters. I can guarantee that something suspicious is going on!
Folks was by far his September 2005 guilty plea on a first offense criminal domestic violence charge.
Folks graduated from the University of South Carolina (USC) in 1997 with a B.A. in History and Philosophy and received his Master’s degree in Mass Communication from USC two years later.
Will Folks lives in Columbia, S.C.
WILL FOLKS IS CLEARLY BIASED–being a USC alum, resident of Columbia, and a CRIMINAL! Criminals love USC and love to attend there.
http://www.thestate.com/local/story/288725.html
Hey dipshit (20 & 21),
We bust ass on USC all the time, moron. USC is one of the biggest wasters of taxpayer money in the state, and we call them out all the time for it.
The facts of this story are what they are, but we’re used to people trying to find something to discredit us.
For the record, the little fued between the USC Law School and the Charleston School of Law interests us about as much as two fleas battling for a nibble on a dog’s ass.
But Supreme Court justices changing bar exam scores under suspicious circumstances? Now that’s something we’ll write about all day long.
If you don’t like it, you’re more than welcome to question our credibility. And kiss our asses. We’re used to both …
-FITSNews
Fitsnews,
So since you claim that USC is one of the biggest wasters of taxpayer money in the state, since Folks graduated from USC, doesn’t that make him the biggest waste in the state also?
In addition, you claim you have FACTS–however you are coming up with hypothetical scenarios that have you factual backing behind them. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty–so prove CSOL guilty–as of right now they are innocent.
As far as credibility is concerned–you have none–every author of each story remains anonymous.
So long story short, there are no decent law schools in South Carolina? Consensus says that both are not worth it. If anybody knows of any law schools in the state, even if it just opened up in the past year or two, please let me know.
I have lived in South Carolina my whole life…so should I not even consider law school (I can’t afford to move out of state).
By the way, is it even worth trying without an MBA or any other graduate school experience?
[...] 8, 2008 - Since we’ve gotten like eleventy kabillion comments on our recent post about the Charleston School of Law, we figured it was probably time we injected some of our Solomonesque wisdom into the debate over [...]