Legal News

Alabama Law: Apply Here, Get Free iTunes!

By Dan Slater

You buy a hat like this, I’ll bet you get a free bowl of soup. — Rodney Dangerfield, “Caddyshack“

Will there come a day, Dear LB Readers, when the increasingly contentious U.S. News ranking wars lead law schools to pay admitted students to retake the LSAT, and perhaps even offer financial rewards to those whose scores go up by a certain level? That’s the apocalyptic vision pondered by the mighty oak of tax law blogging, Paul Caron.

We have no idea whether Caron is on to something. But we would like to note a novel effort that one law school is making to attract applicants.

In the midst of the law school application process, a Loyal Reader received an e-mail from the University of Alabama School of Law. It reads, in part:

Admit it! You are an outstanding student. For a select number of students like you, The University of Alabama School of Law is offering some special incentives. But, don’t wait! . . .

For you, we’re making two special offers:

1. We’ll waive your application fee, and

2. We’ll present you with free iTunes® downloads in the amount of $20 if you apply!

We have no doubt that the Loyal Reader who received this generous music offer would make a fine law student — how could he not? he’s a Loyal Reader! — but of course we wonder about Alabama’s motives. Raise the number of applications? The number of rejections? Capitalize on what’s expected to be a big application year?

We await a response from Claude Reeves Arrington, Alabama law’s associate dean of admissions.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on October 15, 2008 (boomark / email).