UVa to Pay Bar Review Expenses for Law Grads Who Are Unemployed

For law graduates who don’t yet have jobs lined up, the University of Virginia is trying to eliminate a potential financial obstacle to getting licensed to practice. It will pay up to $500 in bar application costs and $1,500 in bar review expenses, reports Virginia Law Weekly. Hat tip: Above…

Apr 21, 2011 7:32 PM CDT

Suit Claims ‘Screaming Attacks’ by Nev. Bar Official Led to Grading Errors on 2010 Bar Exam

A lawsuit filed by three former employees of the State Bar of Nevada claims the group’s executive director “launched screaming attacks” on the bar’s admissions director that led to her resignation and mistakes in the grading of the February 2010 bar exam. According to the suit, the grading errors apparently…

Apr 5, 2011 11:58 AM CDT

CPA’s Stellar Law School Career Screeches to a Halt as St. John’s Rescinds His Admission

Third in his class at St. John’s University School of Law, a certified public accountant working at PricewaterhouseCoopers was looking ahead to a bright future in the law. But David Powers’ would-be legal career came to a screeching halt after he wrote to New York’s character and fitness committee to…

Feb 2, 2011 11:57 PM CST

Oxford Grad Blames UK Law School for Failing NY Bar Exam, Sues for $162K

A graduate of Oriel College at the renowned University of Oxford blames her law school for her failure to pass both the New York state bar exam and comparable tests in the United Kingdom that would have qualified her to work as a solicitor there, the Daily Mail reported. Now…

Feb 2, 2011 10:58 AM CST

Oregon Requires Yearlong Mentorship for Law Grads

Law school graduates taking the February bar exam in Oregon have learned in a letter from the state’s chief justice that they will be required to participate in a new mentoring program. The mandatory yearlong program is designed to help law grads who can’t find jobs after graduation, Oregon State…

Jan 18, 2011 2:11 PM CST

Law Grad with No Plan to Repay Debt Fails Character and Fitness Mandate, Ohio Top Court Says

Ohio State University law grad Hassan Jonathan Griffin of Columbus, Ohio, has a part-time job in the public defender’s office and no feasible plan to repay his law-school and credit-card debt. That combination means Griffin has so far failed to satisfy the character and fitness qualification to get a law…

Jan 13, 2011 3:42 PM CST

Would-Be Ind. Lawyers Who Sued over Mental Health Questions Protected in Discovery

A judge has prohibited Indiana bar examiners from conducting further discovery about the mental health of would-be lawyers who filed a class-action suit over treatment questions in applications for a law license. U.S. District Judge Tanya Pratt upheld a magistrate’s order barring the line of discovery, the National Law Journal…

Jan 5, 2011 5:40 PM CST

9th Circuit Rules Blind Law Grad Can Use Computer Aids, Despite Hacking Fears

A blind UCLA law grad should able to take the California bar exam using computer equipment that gives her the best chance of passing, a federal appeals court has ruled. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Stephanie Enyart should be able to use special equipment that…

Jan 5, 2011 2:57 PM CST

Law Prof Links Lawyer Regs and ‘Gaping Hole’ in Legal Services for Middle Class

A University of Illinois law professor thinks a change in lawyer regulations could help middle-class defendants who are being targeted in mass foreclosures and debt-collection suits. The answer, says corporate law professor Larry Ribstein, lies in a change in the “stranglehold” of lawyer regulations that prevent innovation and a focus…

Dec 1, 2010 11:30 AM CST

Uniform Bar Exam Is Picking Up Steam

Dec 1, 2010 6:25 AM CST

Outsourcing, Not Bar Review Prep, Evidently Part of Thomson Reuters’ Strategic Plan

Thomson Reuters, the owner of West Publishing and BarBri, has a new strategic plan, and it apparently does not include the bar prep business. Students taking the BarBri course got an e-mail yesterday evening informing them that BarBri’s parent company is exploring the possible sale of the business, Above the…

Nov 19, 2010 12:07 PM CST

ABA President Asks Obama to Push India to Allow Foreign Legal Offices

Updated: ABA President Stephen N. Zack is hoping President Obama’s recent visit to India will be helpful to American lawyers who want to advise clients there without obtaining a law license from the country. India requires all lawyers who practice law in the country to be licensed there, even if…

Nov 10, 2010 5:04 PM CST

In-House Counsel in NY Shouldn’t Have to Pass State Bar Exam, Bar Group Says

In-house lawyers with a “continuous presence” in the state of New York shouldn’t be required to pass the state bar exam, according to the New York State Bar Association. Bar leaders have asked the state’s top court to drop the exam requirement but to require payment of the $375 lawyer…

Nov 10, 2010 1:52 PM CST

Oops. Partial NY Bar Results Posted Early, So Officials Publish Full List Ahead of Schedule

After accidentally posting a partial list of those who passed the New York bar exam for a brief time last week, the state Board of Law Examiners decided to make the full pass list for the July exam public earlier than expected. Initially, the plan was to alert test-takers tomorrow…

Nov 8, 2010 9:08 PM CST

Israeli Attorney Is 1st Foreign Law School Grad to Become Wis. Lawyer, Under New Rule

An Israeli attorney who earned her law degree from Bar Ilan University Law School in her home country is the first graduate of a foreign law school to win admission to the Wisconsin bar under a new rule that no longer requires graduation from an American Bar Association-accredited institution. Deborah…

Oct 6, 2010 12:00 AM CDT