A Mississippi teenager recently became one of the youngest people ever to graduate from law school after gaining admission in 2023 at age 15.

James “Jimmy” Chilimigras, 18, graduated on Sunday with highest honors from Loyola University New Orleans’ law school, a little more than three years after he earned national news headlines with an entrance exam score that was the highest in a region encompassing his home state, Alabama to the east, and Louisiana to the west.

In a statement released by Loyola and attributed to him, Chilimigras said he “had no idea what to expect” starting law school at an age where many US teens are preparing for either their first or second year in high school. But he said faculty and fellow students went out of their way to “welcome and embrace” him as he successfully pursued his juris doctorate, the kind of degree required to practice as an attorney in the US.

Jimmy’s parents, John and Erin Chilimigras, have previously spoken publicly about how they realized early that their son – the oldest of seven siblings – was highly intelligent. He was just two years old when he started speaking in full sentences, and he received a high school diploma from St John Paul the Great in his home town of Bay St Louis, Mississippi, at the unusually early age of 12.

By 15, he had attained both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting from the online, non-profit Western Governors University. He subsequently became what is widely believed to be the world’s youngest certified public accountant, aced the law school admission test (LSAT) by scoring a 174 out of 180, and enrolled at Loyola in time for the fall 2023 semester, the Louisiana university said.

Chilimigras made a name for himself at Loyola by ranking in the top 2% of his class while earning the highest grade in more than 40% of his course, according to the school. He represented clients in immigration-related matters at Loyola’s Stuart H Smith law clinic.

And, among other accomplishments, as part of his degree he merited certificates of concentration in five areas: taxation, social justice and immigration and citizenship law; international legal studies; and technology and entrepreneurship. That is “a distinction believed to be unmatched at Loyola”, whose law school was founded in 1914.

Loyola projected Chilimigras to be the youngest law school graduate ever in Louisiana, which joined the US in 1812. Furthermore, a list compiled by the history and culture website oldest.org suggests he could be among the four youngest people globally to obtain a law degree.

The person in third place on that list – Jozef Erece of the Philippines – was 18 when he secured his law degree in 2015.

The person in second, Gabrielle Turnquest of Florida, was 17 when she got her law degree, according to the site. Then, in 2013, Turnquest at age 18 became the youngest barrister in the UK in six centuries.

The site says the world’s youngest known person to get a law degree is Stephen Baccus of Florida, who received his juris doctorate at age 16 in 1986.

Erece, like Turnquest, became a practicing attorney. Baccus became a neurobiology professor.

For his part, on Monday, Chilimigras was vacationing on a cruise ship, a Loyola spokesperson said. He then intends to pursue a master of laws (LLM) degree in taxation from Northwestern University’s Pritzker law school in Chicago.

Loyola noted that would be the first time Chilimigras moved so far away from Bay St Louis, which is less than 60 miles (96.6km) north-east of New Orleans.

If all went to plan, Chilimigras would complete that LLM before age 20.

A proposal to limit property tax increases is set to go before state lawmakers Tuesday — an effort that could culminate with North Carolinians voting on the issue as early as this year.

The state House of Representatives’ Finance Committee is scheduled to discuss a proposed state constitutional amendment restricting how much city and county governments could raise property taxes each year. 

Amendments to the state Constitution must be approved by North Carolina voters. If the idea is approved by a supermajority of legislators, North Carolinians would be asked to decide the issue through a ballot vote, likely in November.  

The legislation, House Bill 1089, doesn’t outline a limit for property tax increases. It calls on state lawmakers to come up with specific restrictions at a later date — if the referendum is approved by voters.

The bill is part of a broader push by legislators in the Republican-controlled General Assembly to address affordability issues ahead of the midterm elections. 

Republicans in the state Senate last week approved a bill that would temporarily block county governments from applying appraisals conducted during this calendar year to property tax bills. Reappraisals often lead to higher property tax bills. Republican Senate leader Phil Berger has referred to that proposal as a “moratorium” that could bring temporary relief to taxpayers in a number of counties scheduled to reappraise properties this year — including Guilford and Harnett. Berger has framed the idea as simply buying time for the legislature to come up with more sweeping reforms.

The proposed constitutional amendment moving forward in the House could be that more sweeping idea, although it’s unclear if the Senate will go along if the idea passes the House.

Tax reduction has been a stated goal of Republican lawmakers for decades, but the proposed reappraisal moratorium and constitutional amendment are not guaranteed to pass. Neither Berger nor House Speaker Destin Hall has committed to supporting the other chamber’s idea for addressing rising property taxes.

Democrats have expressed skepticism over both plans. Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch, D-Wake, chided Senate Republicans last week for failing to take up an amendment to Berger’s bill that would have lowered the state’s income threshold to qualify for property tax exceptions.

Rep. Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe, said Monday — during a press conference calling for higher taxes on millionaires — that the property tax changes being proposed by GOP lawmakers seemed aimed more at gathering political credit than solving a problem.

“We can be the quote-unquote ‘good guys’ down here in Raleigh and say we’re going to lower your property taxes,” Prather said. “But all that means is that the local governments are going to have to be the ‘bad guys’ to raise revenue in other ways.”

Closing a loophole

The House Finance committee on Tuesday is expected to consider a proposal that could help municipal governments recoup more property tax revenue. The committee is expected to discuss House Bill 1042, which would tighten rules for nonprofit organizations that receive property tax exemptions.

The state currently allows certain organizations to avoid paying property taxes if they use their property entirely for charitable purposes and are not run for profit — a law that kept nearly $750 million worth of property out of Wake County’s tax base in 2025. The proposed change seeks to winnow down the list of who qualifies, especially nonprofits that provide affordable housing for low- or moderate-income people. 

The general manager role in college sports remains in its infancy. Oklahoma took a forward-thinking step by hiring Jim Nagy in early 2025 to model an NFL-style front office, but the evolving position still comes with its share of challenges.

“You don’t want to take a high school kid and pay them more than an All-American player/All-Conference player (on your roster),” Nagy said on the most recent episode of university president Joseph Harroz Jr.’s podcast, Conversations With the President.

On the episode, Nagy and Harroz addressed a number of topics but got into what the Sooner general manager hopes for the future — a freshman salary cap. That belief grew from something he learned early in the job.

“One blind spot I had coming into the job was I didn’t think the players would talk as much, and share the information as much,” Nagy said.

That leaves Nagy trying to balance retention, compensation and recruiting without creating friction in the locker room — concerns that make Nagy believe a freshman salary cap is necessary.

“If you wanted to, ‘fix’ isn’t the right word, but land in a good spot for the greater good of college football is some sort of freshman salary cap,” Nagy said. “That’s one of my biggest challenges. The acquisition costs out of high school is so high.”

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Nagy praised Oklahoma’s culture, noting that a key prerequisite for the job was ensuring he and his staff were in lockstep with Brent Venables’ vision for the program, something he said has come to fruition.

“You have to go after great players, you have to get the top talent,” Nagy said. “But right now, it can be at the expense of your culture, which coach Venables and the coaching staff have worked so hard to develop. If we had some sort of rookie/freshman cap, that would alleviate that issue.”

Despite these challenges, Nagy has integrated himself within Venables’ program and helped accent football’s mission of “adaptive and forward thinking.” He mentioned that during prep for Alabama last December, the front office was busy at work in attempting to retain their roster for the following season — something made easier by Venables’ leadership.

“Our ability to retain our starters, give our coaching staff a ton of credit, because our players want to be here.”

But Nagy understands any changes will take time. Until then, Oklahoma’s front office is building the best Brent Venables-led program it can, with championship aspirations and a clear understanding of how the current landscape works.

Still, he feels that his desired change would benefit the “greater good of the sport.” Oklahoma is prepared if that change comes sooner or later.

“A CBA model, there is a model in place,” Nagy said. “At least for football, I’m not going to speak to the other sports, there is a model out there that has shown to work. We don’t have to completely copy and paste what the NFL does, but if we went to a similar structure, we could find a good spot.”

When asked if that’s where he felt the sport would land — collective bargaining agreements — Nagy said “yes” with confidence.

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