Fees awarded in campaign law challenge, bleak prognostication for law schools, and Subway settlement looms

Institute for Justice to get attorney $100K in fees, costs

The Institute for Justice stands to collect a little over $100,000 for costs and legal fees in connection with its challenge of an obscure provision of Minnesota campaign finance law.

The figure is $40,000 less than the request from the libertarian public interest law firm, reports the AP.

“A letter submitted Monday to a federal judge says the settlement could be ratified this month by a panel of state lawmakers,” the story says. “It would then go before U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank for approval.

Report: Bar passage rate likely to plummet

Those historically low bar exam passage rates of recent years will probably get worse, according to Kyle McEntee, the executive director of Law School Transparency, a non-profit that just released the results of its eight-month investigation into law school admission practices.

“With law schools across the prestige spectrum facing extraordinary financial pressure — 1L enrollment fell 28 percent between 2010 and 2014 — dozens of schools confront a dilemma with each new 1L class: either lower academic standards or lose even more money,” writes McEntee.

Subway class action settlement looms

And in case you missed this news, take a deep breath: It looks like there is a settlement in the works for the class action lawsuit brought on behalf of all aggrieved consumers who purchased a Subway® Six Inch or Footlong Sandwich between January 1, 2003 and October 2, 2015.

A fairness hearing is scheduled for January 15 at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

From the notice:

“The proposed settlement of a lawsuit (the “Settlement”) will require Doctor’s Associates Inc. (“DAI”), the franchisor of Subway® stores, to make or continue certain practice changes regarding Subway® Six Inch or Footlong Sandwiches. If approved, the Settlement will require DAI to keep the practice changes in place for four years. The Settlement does not include any monetary benefits for Class Members and does not release Class Members’ claims for monetary damages.”