Assistant Dean Valerie D. James chairing AALS Pre Law Education and Admission to Law School Section

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.—Senior Assistant Dean of Academic & Student Services Valerie D. James is serving as chair of the AALS Pre Law Education and Admission to Law School (PLEALS) Section through the end of 2025.

PLEALS’s mission is to improve legal education and increase diversity in the legal profession; promote the communication of ideas, interests, and activities among members; and provide recommendations on matters of interest touching on education before law school admission, the advising and counseling of pre-law students, and the law school admissions process.

Valerie D. James is the Senior Assistant Dean of Academic and Student Services at Penn State Dickinson Law. She previously served as the assistant dean for student affairs University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law and as assistant dean of admissions and scholarships at the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law. She was the assistant dean of student affairs at University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management and senior assistant dean of admissions, financial aid, and diversity initiatives at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. She is the 2025-2026 chair of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School (PLEALS) Section.