ABA Urges Accommodations for Disabled LSAT Test Takers

The ABA House of Delegates has jumped in to the debate over accommodations for students taking the Law School Admission Test. Resolution 111, which was approved by the policy-making body on Monday, urges entities that administer law school admission tests to provide appropriate accommodations for test-takers with disabilities. The resolution…

Feb 6, 2012 9:31 PM CST

ABA Urges Easier Bar Admission for Lawyers Who Are Military Spouses

Military spouses who are also lawyers have unique needs when forced to move frequently, and bar officials should accommodate them, according to a resolution passed unanimously on Monday by the ABA House of Delegates. Resolution 108 urges state and local bar admission authorities to offer accommodations for these lawyers that…

Feb 6, 2012 9:12 PM CST

Law School Offers Free 7th Semester of Study to Some Students, If They Postpone Taking July Bar Exam

One might think that a New York law school’s offer to cover the cost of a seventh semester of legal education for struggling third-year students would be seen as a positive. But some are complaining that the move is intended to benefit City University of New York School of Law,…

Feb 3, 2012 10:38 PM CST

Lawyer Admits Stealing Case File, Got Law License Despite Prior Bomb-Threat Charge

A Massachusetts lawyer told a judge last Thursday that he should have heeded the advice of the state Board of Bar Examiners, which had warned him not to start a solo practice because of the stress it entailed. The board issued a law license for the lawyer, Ilya Ablavsky, even…

Jan 30, 2012 12:00 PM CST

Lawyer Who Backs Easier Bar Admission for Military Spouse JDs Is Contest Finalist

A lawyer who founded a support network for military spouses with law degrees is one of 30 finalists in a competition for military spouse of the year. Mary Reding, co-founder of the Military Spouse JD Network, is one of five finalists in a category for spouses of National Guard members.…

Jan 20, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Law Student Who Made Up Racial Profiling Claim Received His JD

Updated: A University of Virginia law student who admitted fabricating a racial profiling claim has received his law degree. The student, Johnathan Perkins, was acquitted of a university honor charge this summer by a jury of fellow students, report Above the Law, the Daily Progress and the Cavalier Daily. The…

Jan 18, 2012 2:16 PM CST

Want to Trim Costs of Legal Education? Allow Undergrad Law Degrees, Law Prof Says

A law professor and a BigLaw lawyer have a solution to the high cost of legal education: Allow would-be lawyers to take the bar exam after obtaining an undergraduate law degree. Northwestern University law professor John McGinnis and Kirkland & Ellis associate Russell Mangas outline their proposal in an opinion…

Jan 18, 2012 1:53 PM CST

Longtime Legal Assistant Bypasses Law School, Passes the Bar

Jennifer O’Brien is now a California lawyer, even though she never attended law school. O’Brien had worked for 15 years as a legal assistant to lawyer Chris Neary in Willits, Calif., before taking the bar exam for the first time this summer, the Willits News reports. In November, O’Brien learned…

Jan 6, 2012 2:19 PM CST

Alleged Cheater Loses Suit Challenging ‘Copy Analysis’ of Her Bar Exam

A would-be lawyer has lost an appeal challenging a decision to toss her 2009 bar exam results for alleged cheating. Rose Dewitt had claimed she was denied due process when the New York State Board of Law Examiners nullified the results based on a “copy analysis” by a professor who…

Jan 3, 2012 4:40 PM CST

Double Fast Track: ABA Drafts Tougher Reporting Requirements for Law Schools

Jan 1, 2012 7:30 AM CST

Want to Lower the Cost of Law School and Legal Advice? Allow Nonlawyers to Practice Law, Op-Ed Says

An op-ed proposes one way to lower the cost of a legal education: Drop the requirement altogether. If states allowed nonlawyers and corporations to practice law, the price of legal advice would drop and more consumers could afford it, according to a New York Times op-ed by Clifford Winston, a…

Oct 25, 2011 11:33 AM CDT

Law Grad Who Went into Labor During Bar Exam Passes the Test

A Northwestern University law graduate who went into labor during the Illinois bar exam got some good news earlier this month. Elana Nightingale Dawson learned she passed the exam, the Daily Herald reports. She gave birth to her son, Wilson Nightingale Dawson, two hours after finishing the test on July…

Oct 11, 2011 3:12 PM CDT

Ethics 20/20 Commission Proposes to Remove More Barriers to Cross-Border Practice

The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 this week posted its latest series of draft proposals for comment. The four proposals largely focus on how ethics rules should be amended to make it easier for lawyers in the United States to engage in cross-border practice. Three of the preliminary recommendations would…

Sep 9, 2011 5:45 PM CDT

Mississippi Shortens Bar Exam

The Mississippi Supreme Court has ordered its three-day bar examine cut to two days. The court approved the petition of proposed amendments submitted by the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions this week, which shortens the exam to 13½ hours, not counting the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. Justice Michael K. Randolph,…

Aug 26, 2011 7:30 PM CDT

Judge Allows Visually Impaired Law Student to Use Screenreader Software for Multistate Ethics Exam

Corrected: A visually impaired student at Vermont Law School will be able to use screenreader software for her multistate ethics exam as a result of a federal judge’s ruling. Deanna Jones of Middlesex, Vt., will use the software when she takes the exam on Friday, report the Associated Press and…

Aug 3, 2011 1:28 PM CDT