AALS Hot Topic Program

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Session Type: AALS Hot Topic Programs

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel

Room: Washington 5

Floor: Exhibition Level

This panel program presents a diverse array of perspectives on helping students with serious financial challenges succeed in law school. The panel represents views on the issue both in the classroom with respect to pedagogical approaches, as well as practical strategies to assist students outside of the classroom and in preparation for the bar exam. As law school tuition has more than doubled since 2008, law student debt is also on the rise. Many students are admitted without adequate financial support. State and federal government assistance to higher education is also on the decline, putting pressure on the institutions that have always accepted and supported substantial numbers of students in serious financial need. New bar passage rules for law schools have incentivized faculty and administrators to look more deeply at student challenges, and many involve the intersectionality of marginalization on a number of fronts, including the class divide.