Bar Exam

Students try to avoid law school costs with ‘reading law’ path to law license

Chris Tittle doesn’t want to rack up a $100,000 debt to attend law school, so he is trying an alternative: He is “reading the law” as part of a four-year apprenticeship, a route to a law license that is allowed in his home state of California. Only a few states…

Jul 30, 2014 5:53 PM CDT

Barmageddon? Bar exam takers in multiple states can’t upload tests; deadlines extended

Bar exam test takers have overcome test-day roadblocks in the past. Above the Law recalls persistent test takers who carried on after fainting, while in labor, and during an earthquake. But the website says there was a disaster of greater proportions Tuesday evening when students in multiple states experienced delays…

Jul 30, 2014 4:58 PM CDT

Should Iowa eliminate bar exam for in-state law grads? State’s lawyers have mixed views

A proposal to nix the Iowa bar examination, as far as graduates of in-state law schools are concerned, has met with a mixed reception from the state’s attorneys. Some support the idea, arguing that the test doesn’t measure knowledge and skills needed to practice law. But others say the bar…

Jul 14, 2014 2:30 PM CDT

State bars may probe applicants’ behavior, but not mental health status, says DOJ

State bars around the country are on notice that assessing prospective attorneys’ fitness to practice law based on their mental health may discriminate against individuals with disabilities. The U.S. Department of Justice said that states may examine applicants’ prior behavior, but not their mental health status, when determining whether to…

Jun 1, 2014 9:00 AM CDT

LSAC to pay $7.73M, change LSAT policies in settlement of ADA suit

In a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over Law School Admission Test policies concerning the disabled, the Law School Admission Council has agreed to pay $7.73 million and stop flagging test scores of those who were given extra time, among other policy revisions. The LSAC did not admit…

May 20, 2014 10:30 PM CDT

Law students seek license for long-deceased would-be attorney

Seeking to right a 124-year-old wrong, a law student group and two law professors at the University of California-Davis have submitted a bar application on behalf of Hong Yeng Chang. In a well-known case, he was denied a law license in 1890 because he was Chinese, KCRA reports. An 1886…

May 5, 2014 10:55 PM CDT

Florida lawmakers pass bill allowing noncitizens who stayed in the US illegally to get law licenses

The Florida legislature on Friday passed legislation that would allow some noncitizens who stayed here illegally to become lawyers. The bill would allow noncitizens in Florida to become lawyers if they were brought to the country as a child, if they lived here at least 10 years, if they have…

May 5, 2014 6:18 PM CDT

Thirty-eight 3Ls who took the Arizona bar in February await the test results

Thirty-eight law students from Arizona’s three law schools took the bar exam before graduation this year in a pilot program approved in 2012. The students who sat for the bar exam in February of their 3L year have not yet received the test results, the National Law Journal (sub. req.)…

Apr 14, 2014 2:09 PM CDT

Letters: The Stewart Model

THE STEWART MODEL “Meet Carl Stewart,” February, was well worth the time investment. As an attorney practicing for almost 11 years, I find comparatively few down-to-earth, humble and unpretentious people in this profession. Stewart is a breath of fresh air because there are not nearly enough of his character practicing…

Apr 1, 2014 10:10 AM CDT

Changes to bar pass standards delayed by lack of state data, panel says

A lack of national uniformity has encouraged an ABA committee to back away from recommending immediate changes in bar pass requirements of the law school accreditation standards. The Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar’s standards review committee, which is wrapping up a comprehensive review of the standards,…

Apr 1, 2014 6:40 AM CDT

DC federal court proposes elimination of reciprocity rule

Washington, D.C., federal courts have taken the first step towards liberalizing their rules governing out-of-town lawyers and whether or not they can practice law in the nation’s capital. According to Sheldon Snook, a spokesperson for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the court will formally propose new…

Mar 10, 2014 4:45 PM CDT

Immigrants living in US illegally can’t be lawyers, top Florida court says

Immigrants living in the U.S. illegally cannot practice law in Florida, the state’s top court ruled in a unanimous Thursday opinion. FlascBlog provided an early alert about the 11-page advisory opinion (PDF) by the Florida Supreme Court to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Authored by Chief Justice Ricky Polston,…

Mar 6, 2014 8:45 PM CST

DOJ says bar officials violate ADA by asking applicants too much about their mental health

Asking would-be lawyers standard questions about their mental health, including their history of diagnosis and treatment, could violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In a lengthy Feb. 5 letter (PDF) to the Louisiana Supreme Court, its committee on…

Feb 12, 2014 9:30 PM CST

3Ls in New York would take early bar exam, devote final semester to pro bono in new program

New York’s Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman announced a new “pro bono scholars” program on Tuesday in which third-year law students would take the bar exam in February in exchange for devoting their last semester to pro bono work. The first-of-its-kind program has already been approved by the Board of Law…

Feb 12, 2014 1:58 PM CST

Reciprocity fight returns as lawsuits press the ABA-advocated issue

For the better part of a decade, the American Bar Association has been working to ensure that experienced lawyers looking to practice in another state can do so without having to dust off their old bar exam notes or sign up for a prep course. Despite the ABA’s efforts, many…

Feb 1, 2014 7:50 AM CST