Law Schools

10 law schools are out of compliance with bar passage standard, ABA legal ed section says

The council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar posted the findings to the section’s website on Wednesday. This is the first year compliance was determined based on two-year bar passage rates.

May 28, 2020 12:30 PM CDT

An unprecedented finale to the first year of law school, starring COVID-19

A law student at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law talks about her first year of law school during the novel coronavirus pandemic—what she describes as “more ‘unforgettable’ than usual.”

May 28, 2020 8:00 AM CDT

Law school still out of compliance with ABA admissions standard and dealing with fraud allegations

Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law remains out of compliance with an ABA admissions standard, according to a notice posted Wednesday by the council of the ABA's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

May 21, 2020 2:35 PM CDT

Law grad, age 19, could become youngest lawyer in modern Alabama history

Seth Harding is working as a law clerk at the Beasley Allen Law Firm in its Montgomery, Alabama, office and studying for the state bar.

May 20, 2020 2:31 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Oregon top court keeps stay-at-home orders intact; Michigan plans modified bar exam

Oregon top court halts lifting of stay-at-home orders The Oregon Supreme Court stayed a judge’s injunction Monday evening granted to 10 churches challenging the state’s ban on religious services. The lower court judge, Matthew Shirtcliff, had ruled earlier Monday that Gov. Kate Brown exceeded her authority by extending her COVID-19…

May 19, 2020 4:38 PM CDT

Expanded online law school classes could continue under plan endorsed by ABA legal ed council

The council of the ABA's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar would have more authority to enact short-term, emergency policies and procedures for schools under a proposed law school accreditation rule change endorsed Friday by the council.

May 15, 2020 4:45 PM CDT

Student loan relief scholarships awarded to 3 ABA members who ‘make a positive impact on the world around them’

Those looking for some good news have come to the right place.

May 13, 2020 10:15 AM CDT

ABA legal ed section contemplates rule change in light of novel coronavirus

A proposal to change an ABA law school accreditation rule, which would allow for temporary relief in regional and national emergencies, is now being considered.

May 8, 2020 3:08 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Group wants bar passage standard delayed; Justice Ginsburg leaves hospital

Group asks for suspension of two-year bar passage standard for ABA-accredited law schools Citing the coronavirus pandemic, the Society of American Law Teachers has asked to suspend an ABA accreditation standard requiring law school bar passage rates be at least 75% within a two-year period. A letter with the request…

May 7, 2020 5:10 PM CDT

If law schools can’t offer in-person classes this fall, what will they do instead?

Students may not feel safe attending courses because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that’s also true for professors, say law school deans, many of whom want in-person classes this fall but are making various plans they hope meet ABA accreditation standards.

May 7, 2020 11:59 AM CDT

Florida announces plans for July bar exam with masks and thermometers

The Florida bar exam will take place in July, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners announced Tuesday. Masks will be required for test-takers, proctors and administrators, and people coming from out of state might have to quarantine for 14 days.

May 6, 2020 10:49 AM CDT

An insider’s guide to succeeding in law school⁠—even during the COVID-19 pandemic

A law professor and his former student teamed up to give students a leg up on navigating law school in their new book, The Law of Law School.

May 6, 2020 9:25 AM CDT

If states want July bar exam, NCBE will have testing materials

Some states have postponed the July bar exam because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the National Conference of Bar Examiners determined Tuesday that there will be a sufficient number of examinees to release July exam materials.

May 5, 2020 12:38 PM CDT

California announces online bar exam, but how will it work?

If the novel coronavirus pandemic leads to online remotely proctored bar exams, controlled test-taking environments, one of the most equalizing factors, will be eliminated. Such scenarios raise questions about whether exam results would be fair or valid.

May 5, 2020 9:22 AM CDT

New York limits bar exam to in-state graduates because of coronavirus concerns

Because of space concerns related to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the New York bar exam will now be administered at law schools there. And for now, applications are limited to people who graduated in the state.

May 1, 2020 12:27 PM CDT