Bar Exam

Tums, Anyone? What About a Massage? Law Schools Vie to Offer Best Perks at Ohio Bar Exam

Back in the day, tailgate parties were synonymous with college football games. But some law schools now host similar events for freshly minted legal eagles facing a grueling bar exam followed by a worrisome future in a difficult legal economy. In Ohio, eight of the state’s nine law schools and…

Jul 28, 2010 7:59 PM CDT

Bar Exam? There’s an App for That

When Mike Ghaffary decided to take the California bar exam, he did what most other young lawyers do: He enrolled in a bar review course.

May 1, 2010 8:39 AM CDT

With Missouri Move, Idea of Uniform Bar Exam Finally Gets Legs

Missouri has become the first state to replace its bar exam with a uniform test that could help make lawyers more mobile. Test-takers won’t see the new exam until February, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Other jurisdictions considering a uniform exam include Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota and…

Apr 29, 2010 1:20 PM CDT

Deputy Prosecutor Isn’t Licensed and Isn’t a Law School Student

Margie Alumbaugh doesn’t have a law license and she isn’t a student at a traditional law school, but she’s already getting experience as a deputy prosecutor. In February Alumbaugh became a prosecutor in Kittitas County, Wash., under a state rule that allows law students waiting to take the bar exam…

Apr 5, 2010 4:17 PM CDT

Out-of-State Law Grad Settles Suit Over Wis. ‘Diploma Privilege’ for $7,500

After more than three years of litigation, an out-of-state law graduate has apparently tired of pursing a onetime federal class action over Wisconsin’s so-called diploma privilege, under which graduates of the state’s two law schools are automatically admitted into the Wisconsin bar. Hence, Christopher Wiesmueller accepted $7,500 last week to…

Mar 24, 2010 10:46 PM CDT

$1,000 iPhone App Offers a BARBRI Alternative for Calif. Test Takers

The most expensive iPhone app costs $999.99, but the high cost may not deter some would-be lawyers. The app, BarMax CA, is a prep course for the California bar exam, TechCrunch reports in a story reprinted by the Washington Post. “So what do you get for your $1,000 BarMax CA…

Jan 21, 2010 1:42 PM CST

Blind Law Grad Sues Over Bar Exam’s Human, Rather than Computer, Readers

A blind graduate of UCLA law school plans to take the bar exam in February, and she hopes she will be able to use a computer program that reads the text aloud. The State Bar of California allows use of the computer assisted reader for its section of the exam,…

Jan 6, 2010 6:53 PM CST

Like All Good Things ...

In the decades before attending law school became a prerequisite to practicing law, it was relatively common for states to grant “diploma privilege” to those who did graduate—requiring their bar exams only for those who did not.

Jan 2, 2010 4:30 AM CST

Bar Exam Pass Rates Dip at 9 New York Law Schools: Economy to Blame?

Nine out of New York’s 15 law schools saw a decrease in bar passage rates for this July’s exam, contributing to a drop in the statewide pass rate to 88 percent from 90 percent in 2008. New York Law School and Hofstra University School of Law saw the biggest drops,…

Dec 3, 2009 6:23 PM CST

Online Law Grad Petitions to Take Bar, Cites High Cost of Traditional Ed.

Valarie Wallin, a graduate of an online law school, has passed the bar in California and Wisconsin. Now she wants the Minnesota Supreme Court to allow her to take the exam there. Wallin is joining with three other petitioners to ask for a change in Minnesota rules that allow only…

Dec 3, 2009 5:51 PM CST

Several States Move Closer to National Bar Exam

The debate for a uniform bar exam heats up as more jurisdictions consider the adoption of a single exam and scoring system that would be accepted from state to state. Missouri bar officials say they could offer the first national exam as early as 2010, USA Today reports. Jurisdictions also…

Nov 23, 2009 7:49 PM CST

Grad Without a Credit Card Passes Bar Exam After Suing to Take the Test

There’s a happy ending to the story of disabled law grad who sued when California bar examiners refused to process her application to take the test because she didn’t fill in a credit card number. Sara Granda, a graduate of the University of California at Davis School of Law, has…

Nov 23, 2009 12:49 PM CST

Clearing the Bar

You begin to suspect that Ross E. Mitchell is a different sort of professional when he mentions his patented JetLag watch, which gradually adjusts to the correct time during flight to lessen the jolt of changing time zones.

Nov 2, 2009 3:00 AM CST

Want to Study for the Bar from Home? There’s an App for That

An expanded iPhone app from BARBRI allows bar review students who have upgraded to a mobile course to view all of the bar study lectures and access other study materials on their iPhone or iPod Touch. The app is free, but students have to log in with the BARBRI user…

Sep 24, 2009 7:11 PM CDT

Doing What Felt Right Put Lawyer, 33, at Helm of Own Practice

A little over seven years ago, Tony Jorgensen was getting ready to take the Pennsylvania bar exam after earning his law degree from Temple University in Philadelphia. But on a sudden impulse he hustled home to his native Connecticut on the last possible day to apply to take the bar…

Aug 31, 2009 6:28 PM CDT