BYU Law School

Last week, Gov. Spencer Cox announced the appointment of Jay Jorgensen (BYU Law '97) to serve on the Utah Supreme Court.

“Jay Jorgensen is one of Utah’s brightest legal minds,” Gov. Cox said. “His career reflects exceptional judgment, integrity and respect for the rule of law."

https://governor.utah.gov/press/gov-cox-announces-appointments-of-jay-jorgensen-and-stephen-dent-to-the-utah-supreme-court/

Our very own Professor Elysa Dishman will deliver tomorrow’s BYU devotional address. Before you attend in person at the Marriott Center or tune in on BYUtv or BYUradio, get to know Professor Dishman.

Cougar Query: Elysa Dishman Cougar Queries is a series profiling BYU employees by asking them questions about their work, interests and life.

We look forward to hearing from Professor Elysa Dishman during next week's BYU devotional address. Details below:

Tuesday, June 02
11:05 AM
Marriott Center

Her remarks will also be broadcast live on BYUtv. Video, text, and audio will be archived on speeches.byu.edu.

https://calendar.byu.edu/devotionals-forums/devotional-elysa-dishman-2026-06-02

BYU Law Professors Lucy Williams and Dane Thorley, alongside NYU's Professor Aaron Kaufman, recently published new research on the impact of courtroom cameras. Using AI to analyze Ninth Circuit proceedings, their study offers preliminary empirical evidence that video recording may subtly alter judicial behavior and conversational dynamics.

Do Courtroom Cameras Change Judicial Behavior? New BYU-NYU Study Suggests They May A new BYU-NYU study uses AI to study what happens when federal appellate courts go on video — and finds that courtroom behavior does change.

BYU Law continues its tradition of scholarly excellence in corporate and securities law. The Corporate Practice Commentator recently named an article co-authored by Professors Gladriel Shobe and Jarrod Shobe among the top ten of 2025, building upon similar recent recognition for Professor Matthew Jennejohn.

https://law.byu.edu/news/a-tradition-of-impact-byu-law-scholars-recognized-among-nation%E2%80%99s-best

Happy graduation day and congratulations to our newest BYU Law alumni!

Our convocation ceremony can be streamed live at the link below.

Thurs, April 23, 2026, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM MDT

https://lawconvocations.byu.edu/

MinJae Kim (BYU Law, Dec. ’25) sits at his desk at Spencer Fane in Salt Lake City, reflecting on BYU, grateful because he is doing exactly what he set out to do when he left full-time law enforcement for law school – civil rights litigation. He loves his job.

“I love that my work actually helps people,” Kim said.

Read more at the link below.

More than Law: a BYU graduate’s commitment to service MinJae Kim (JD, Dec.’25) sits at his desk at Spencer Fane in Salt Lake City, reflecting on BYU, grateful because he is doing exactly what he set out to do when he left full-time law enforcement for law school – civil rights litigation. He loves his job.

We are thrilled to announce our Spring 2026 Academies Program, featuring 10 immersive, simulation-based programs across the country and abroad. Alongside this expanded lineup, we are also announcing a shift to hold future Academies in the fall. By repositioning these experiential programs earlier in the academic year, first-year students will be better equipped to navigate accelerated hiring timelines and make informed career decisions.

https://www.law.com/2026/04/21/byu-law-expands-law-academies-moves-future-programming-to-fall-due-to-early-big-law-recruiting-/?slreturn=20260422085612

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/byu-law-announces-spring-2026-academies-and-strategic-shift-to-fall-programming-in-response-to-accelerated-legal-hiring-302748326.html

BYU Law Expands Law Academies, Moves Future Programming to Fall Due to Early Big Law Recruiting | Law.com BYU, which has been holding Law Skills Academies for 1Ls since 2018, will move the program from April to October in the next academic year in light of Big Law's accelerated recruiting practices.

BYU Law ranks #24 in the latest U.S. News law school rankings.

As Dean Moore notes, the rankings capture "only a glimpse of what BYU Law offers." Beyond our overall spot, BYU Law ranks in the:

-Top 10 for first-time bar passage and federal clerkships
-Top 20 for employment and median LSAT

Additionally, 100% of job-seeking graduates have secured employment since 2020, over 50% of the class of 2025 graduated debt-free, and BYU Law is tied for 1st place in ultimate bar passage at 100%.

We seek to educate the whole person, developing "people of integrity who combine faith and intellect in lifelong service to God and neighbor" (BYU Law Mission Statement).