The California Supreme Court has decided that it’s time to change the state’s notoriously difficult bar exam after observing very low passage rates for the past few years compared to other states.

The state’s passing score, referred to as the “cut score,” has been set at 144. California has the second highest score to pass nationwide behind only Delaware. Last year 62 percent of applicants passed. Other states, like New York, saw a rate around 80 percent, according to the New York Times.

The changes, which will take effect in January, will give the California Supreme Court the ability to change the “cut score,” according to the ABA Journal. The court will have the authority to appoint 10 of the 19 members of the committee of bar examiners. The court amended the California Rules of Court to expand its power, dictating that it “must set the passing score of the examination.” The Supreme Court justices could make the decision soon and retroactively apply them to last month’s exams, according to the New York Times.

Some businesses that prepare law students for the bar exam called the move “unprecedented.” But according to Erica Moeser, president of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, this action isn’t out of the ordinary. Instead, it will bring California in line with other states. “Virtually all state supreme courts exercise their inherent authority to regulate the admission of lawyers more closely than has appeared to be the case in California,” she said.

In February the state bar received a letter from 20 California law school deans advocating a scoring change, which prompted the group to launch the study.

The court was further compelled to act after the University of California Hastings College of the Law Dean complained to the California Committee of Bar Examiners. Dean David Faigman called the steep standard “outrageous and constitutes unconscionable conduct on the part of a trade association that masquerades as a state agency” after only 51 percent of his school’s graduates qualified.

Robert Anderson, a professor of corporate law at Pepperdine School of Law, who studied the 10 most difficult state bar exams in 2013, concluded that California had the most difficult exam even if its score standard was lower than Delaware’s, according to the New York Times. Anderson recommended lowering the score to 133, the same as New York. That change would mean that 87 percent of test-takers would pass, according to ABA Journal.

There are still people who advocate for the high standard when certifying lawyers. Supporters believe that the high cut score protects citizens from unprepared lawyers and continues a tradition of accepting only very qualified candidates.

California is home to plenty of prestigious law schools–ranging from Stanford in the northern part of the state to UCLA in the southern part–so it trains many law students. If California feels as though young law students are fleeing the state to get easily certified elsewhere, a change makes sense. The strict standards have been part of the California Bar Association’s reputation for a while now but for a state that is home to economic hubs for entertainment and technology, it’s important to retain talent.

Josh Schmidt

Josh Schmidt is an editorial intern and is a native of the Washington D.C Metropolitan area. He is working towards a degree in multi-platform journalism with a minor in history at nearby University of Maryland. Contact Josh at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Is the California Bar Exam About to Get Easier? appeared first on Law Street.

Blanking?

bar exam: when does the security interest attach?
me: the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell,

— Legally Hog (@squierzz) July 23, 2017

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to our best legal tweets of the week–with some special bar exam entries this time around!

Fantastic Advice

If you know folks who are studying for the bar exam, take the time to encourage them. Even better, send them care packages.

— Chief Judge Dillard (@JudgeDillard) July 17, 2017

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week: Bar Exam Edition appeared first on Law Street.

Check out the best legal tweets from this week!

Good Advice

In law school, you have to embrace the thought that “Reading is life.”@YourLawyerSays

— LeunammeGayle (@Lyooname) June 22, 2017

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Check out the best of this week!

Everyone Probably Needs That

Dear #barexam preppers, #twitter has decided to go offline so you can study. You’re welcome. –Twitter Tech Support pic.twitter.com/WkCrWz3o3k

— lawprofblawg (@lawprofblawg) May 19, 2017

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Check out this week’s picks!

Whoops

*drives to library to take a practice LSAT*
*forgets LSAT book*

Goodbye pic.twitter.com/mR5JlDwMso

— Ashley Courtney (@ashcourtalways) April 12, 2017

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Arizona Summit Law School is the latest institution in trouble with the American Bar Association (ABA) for low bar exam passage rates.

The ABA has placed the school–which has recently seen bar passage rates for first-time test takers fall to 25 percent–on probation. This is a significant drop from the school’s 2008 passage rate of 97 percent. The association also cited Summit’s admissions policies as a reason for the probation.

Summit Law School has until May 15 to develop a plan to improve its students’ test results in accordance with the ABA standards, which require that at least 75 percent of a law school’s graduates pass the bar within five years of graduation.

The ABA has been getting tough on law schools recently. Charlotte School of Law in North Carolina, which is owned by the same for-profit company that owns Summit, was placed on probation in November and lost its federal funding in February. In order for students to be eligible for loans from the government, their schools must be ABA-accredited. Charlotte landed in hot water with the association after admitting too many unqualified students who were unable to pass the bar or pursue careers in the field post-graduation.

In February, the association even considered tightening its standards for accredited schools. A proposed revision would have required 75 percent of graduates pass a bar exam within two years instead of five, but this proposal failed. Students and law school deans across the country challenged the idea of imposing stricter criteria, saying that it would limit diversity in schools and eventually the profession. Summit is especially cognizant of these concerns, as 43 percent of its students are minorities.

Last August, the ABA gave the Ave Maria School of Law in Florida a list of measures it would have to undertake to improve its school, and in November it publicly censured the Valparaiso School of Law in Indiana.

One explanation for the ABA’s crackdown on under-performing schools could be because it faces the possibility of losing its accreditation power. Last June, a Department of Education advisory committee suggested that the association’s authority to accredit schools be suspended for a year because of low student achievement.

Victoria Sheridan

Victoria is an editorial intern at Law Street. She is a senior journalism major and French minor at George Washington University. She’s also an editor at GW’s student newspaper, The Hatchet. In her free time, she is either traveling or planning her next trip abroad. Contact Victoria at VSheridan@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post American Bar Association Places a Second Law School on Probation appeared first on Law Street.

Twelve states are taking the bar out of the bar exam–the newest MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar, that is.

North Carolina’s Board of Law Examiners is the latest board to ask test-takers using MacBooks to disable the function during exams over concerns about cheating. The new rule will go into effect for students sitting for the test in February.

According to ExamSoft, a company that manufactures testing software for the board, the “Touch Bar will show predictive text depending on what the student is typing, compromising exam integrity.”

9to5Mac, a website that covers news about Apple, reported that ExamSoft’s software is typically able to block access to the internet or apps that allow students to cheat, but that the new Touch Bar rule was likely an “extra precaution.”

Meanwhile, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia’s bar associations have banned the Apple computers from their tests altogether.

Don’t know if you’ll be allowed to bring your computer to the test? Katherine Silver Kelly, an Ohio State University law professor, has been using her blog Bar Exam Wizard to post the list of states placing restrictions on MacBook Pros and the Touch Bars.

Apple introduced the updated MacBook Pro in October with the Touch Bar as a replacement for function keys. The bar is a touchscreen that runs along the top of the keyboard and can be customized to display users’ most-used apps. It also provides full emoji access.

Victoria Sheridan

Victoria is an editorial intern at Law Street. She is a senior journalism major and French minor at George Washington University. She’s also an editor at GW’s student newspaper, The Hatchet. In her free time, she is either traveling or planning her next trip abroad. Contact Victoria at VSheridan@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post MacBook Feature Barred from Multiple Bar Exams appeared first on Law Street.

Despite criticism from law school deans across the country, the American Bar Association will meet on February 6 to discuss a proposal that would establish stricter bar passage requirements for school accreditation.

The proposal mandates that 75 percent of an accredited school’s graduates must pass the bar within two years of graduating. But deans have opposed the measure over concerns about California’s declining bar passage rate and diversity within the profession.

More than 90 deans signed a letter from the Association of American Law School’s Dean Steering Committee on January 13, asking for a year to review the proposal before the ABA’s House of Delegates considers it.

That period of time, they wrote, would allow them to understand how the measure might affect a school’s accreditation. In California, where the state bar passage rate has dropped from 56 percent to about 43 percent over the last three years, a handful of schools could lose their accreditations.

The letter notes:

The California bar results, if they become the ‘new normal’ for graduates of ABA-accredited law schools in California, could potentially imperil the accreditation of a very large number of law schools–law schools whose history and profile have demonstrated over many decades an ability to educate successful law students by any reasonable measure.

The letter also included concerns about diversity. More difficult standards could keep minority students–who, on average, score lower on the Law School Admission Test–from being admitted to schools if officials fear they won’t pass the bar.

Most of California’s law school deans, a handful of deans from law schools with connections to historically black universities, and the deans of Harvard and Yale law schools all signed the letter.

At the same time, the ABA risks losing its authority to accredit schools if it does not pay greater attention to student achievement. In June, the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity urged the Department of Education to suspend the association’s accreditation power for one year.

The ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education voted to adopt the proposal’s requirement changes in October, but the proposal must still pass through the House of Delegates. If they approve the new rule next month, it will apply to graduates taking the bar exam this July, part of a broader Department of Education crackdown on accreditors.

In a January 19 statement, the council’s managing director Barry Currier said, “There is no reason to delay the effectiveness of this new standard,” which he said the council has been discussing and revising for several years. “The fact remains that to become a lawyer in a jurisdiction, a law school graduate must pass that jurisdiction’s bar exam. The standard that the council adopted holds schools to meeting graduates’ expectations in the jurisdictions where the school’s graduates choose to locate,” Currier said.

He added that the council would continue working with state supreme courts, bar examiners, deans, and diversity groups to ensure diversity and fair exams. He also said the new standard “is not at odds with any of those concerns and objectives.”

Victoria Sheridan

Victoria is an editorial intern at Law Street. She is a senior journalism major and French minor at George Washington University. She’s also an editor at GW’s student newspaper, The Hatchet. In her free time, she is either traveling or planning her next trip abroad. Contact Victoria at VSheridan@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post ABA Will Consider New Bar Passage Requirements for Law Schools appeared first on Law Street.

After a busy Inauguration Day, what is everyone talking about on legal Twitter? Check out the best legal tweets of the week:

Damn Straight

You can’t make this stuff up #lawyerlife #ThursdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/PCWprJz3R2

— WineEsquire (@WineEsquire) January 19, 2017

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Check out the best legal tweets of the week:

Holiday Spirit

When you text your husband “we need garland” and then clarify that you don’t mean Merrick, for once. #LawyerProblems

— Candace (@SeaBeeSea81) December 9, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Check out the top legal tweets of the week. Click through below:

Good Advice

Problems in ur personal life? Want to get rid of ’em?

Enrol into ur nearest law school & erase all ur problems bcs you’ll have no life.

— Mitali (@mitaliminigupta) November 10, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Who had the best legal tweets of the week? Check them out below:

Whoops!

In other news, I tried to shampoo my hair with face wash. Stay tuned to see if my hair turns green or falls out. #lawschoolproblems

— Lyndi Skinner (@LyndiLucy) October 22, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Check out the best legal tweets of the week in the slideshow below:

Rough

When you’re only halfway through a transcript and your highlighter runs out… #lawyerproblems

— Alison (Cobra) Craig (@lawandchocolate) September 6, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Check out this week’s top legal tweets!

Olympic Inspiration

“You saved 200 dollars on your textbook purchase”
*Scrolls to total*
“Your total is 400 dollars” #damnit#lawschoolpic.twitter.com/DfAdmm003k

— Mike Brown (@LikeMike025) August 10, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Check out this week’s best legal tweets in the slideshow below:

This Sounds Nice

When prepping for trial includes listening to hours of audio, might as well lay by the pool #lawyerproblems

— Samantha (@shonea31) June 16, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

TGIF, Law Street readers! Check out the top legal tweets of the week in the slideshow below:

Good Life Choices

“Why’d you fail out of law school?”
“I was too busy looking at pictures of puppies.”

— Sid (@sid_bark) April 15, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Happy Friday, everyone. Grab a cup of coffee, kick back, and relax with the best legal tweets of the week.

Happy April Fools

At Lawprofblawg #Lawschool, we have a strict no #AprilFools joke policy. We feel you paying our exorbitant tuition was sufficient.

— lawprofblawg (@lawprofblawg) April 1, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Happy weekend, Law Streeters! Check out the top legal tweets of the week below:

Similar Career Options

I’m studying politics to go to law school but my honest to god true career goal is a video girl for drake

— petty petunia (@_nylaj) March 25, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

It’s Friday, and every Friday we take some time to look back at some of the best legal tweets of the week. Check them out in the slideshow below:

Rumor Follow Up

I’ve never wanted to go to law school. But if Prince Harry is going to Yale, I WILL BE THE BEST GODDAMN LAW STUDENT IN HISTORY.

— Julie S. Lalonde (@JulieSLalonde) March 16, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Spring has sprung, and so has the legal side of Twitter. Check out the top legal tweets of the week in the slideshow below:

Rough, But True?

Person: How is law school going?
Student: Have you ever been tortured or imprisoned?
Person: No.
Student: Then you wouldn’t understand.

— LawSchoolHumor (@LawSchoolHumor) March 9, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Legal gripes, jokes, and thoughts could all be found on Twitter this week. Check out the best legal tweets of the week in the slideshow below:

Also My Meals

When you have coffee for breakfast, lunch and dinner #coffeeaddict#lawschoollife#iactuallyeatnow

— Jazz (@jghag01) February 17, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Stay warm and check out the best legal tweets of this week, courtesy of Law Street Media.

Song Rewrite

My life is like the “All About That Bass” song except mine is “All About That Billable.” #LawyerProblems

— Lawkward the Elf (@LawkwardLady) February 9, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Twitter is a great place for law school students, lawyers, and those interested in the legal field to vent their feelings. Check out the top legal tweets of the week in the slideshow below:

A 2-Part Paper Saga

I’ve been out of the office all week, but got dozens of emails that ended with ‘I’ll leave it on your desk’. I am afraid. #lawyerproblems

— Alison Craig (@lawandchocolate) January 16, 2016

If you’re wondering where all the world’s paper went, it’s on my desk. #lawyerproblems — Alison Craig (@lawandchocolate) January 16, 2016

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Check out this week’s slideshow of the best legal tweets of the week, I passed the Bar Exam edition. Congratulations!

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Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

About four times a year, students across the country nervously sit for what could be the most important four hours of their lives up until that point. Sure, they’re prepared, but nothing can shake the inevitable nervous feelings that ensue on test day. That nerve-wracking test I’m talking about is the LSAT–the admissions exam for law schools in the United States. Law schools sift through thousands of applications every year. When initially considering an applicant, they mainly look at two things: their undergraduate GPA, and their LSAT score. But what if I were to tell you that one of those criteria was no longer considered?

Well if you were to apply to the State University of New York-Buffalo Law School or the University of Iowa College of Law, that would be the case. Both of these schools have decided to admit students who have not taken the LSAT. Instead, they have stated that they will admit some students based on their undergraduate GPAs and their scores on other standardized tests.

These are just the first two schools to implement such policies, taking advantage of a new ruling by the American Bar Association that now permits law schools to fill up to 10 percent of their law school classes with students who have not taken the LSAT. So long as that student has a strong GPA and strong additional standardized test scores, they can be admitted.

If you’re anything like I am, you’re probably asking yourself “what other standardized test could they possibly use?” Well, believe it or not, these schools will be considering ACT and SAT scores from at least four years earlier for undergraduate admissions. They will also be considering things such as the GRE, GMAT, or college aptitude tests.

The aim of this new policy is to combat declining law school enrollment. These schools believe that if potential applicants do not have to worry about preparing and paying for an additional exam, then they will be more likely to apply. James Gardner, the dean of SUNY Buffalo’s law school, stated that “taking the LSAT is a pain, and it is expensive.” Everyone who takes the test must pay a $170 fee, and that doesn’t take into account the steep costs of tutoring or an LSAT preparation course. According to Gardner, “this is just a way to identify strong-performing students based on perfectly rational criteria that don’t involve the LSAT.”

While this may sound like a great leveler, think about what it actually means. If law schools start to use college admissions exams, like the SAT, for law school admissions, it will only make sure those same obstacles come four years sooner. If a high school student has some sort of inclination that they want to go to law school after college, they have the added pressure of doing well on the SAT for that purpose, four years too soon. I always knew I wanted to go to law school, and let me tell you, I would not have been too excited to find out that my SAT scores counted not only for college, but for law school as well.

The unique thing about the LSAT is that it is a good indicator of how well students will perform in law school. Research shows that LSAT scores are a good predictor of not only how well students will perform in their first year of law school, but also how likely a student is to pass the bar exam. It’s unlikely that law schools will be able to discern the same things about applicants from other standardized tests.

Sure, this new policy may draw some people in that may have been deterred from considering law school if they needed to take the LSAT, diversifying the applicant pool. However, if we consider the research, don’t we want to have some indication that students will succeed in law school before investing three years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in a legal education? Isn’t that the whole point of the LSAT?

While some law schools no longer require all students to take the LSAT for admissions, I for one, will still be one of those nervous students sitting for my exam come June.

Brittany Alzfan

Brittany Alzfan is a student at the George Washington University majoring in Criminal Justice. She was a member of Law Street’s founding Law School Rankings team during the summer of 2014. Contact Brittany at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Two U.S. Law Schools No Longer Require the LSAT for Admission appeared first on Law Street.

Check out the slideshow below for some of the best legal tweets of the week that you might have missed.

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Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Every year, eager, bright-eyed students enter law school with the hopes that in about three years time, they’ll be able to call themselves lawyers. Going to law school seems like a natural and crucial step for anyone that hopes to have success in the legal field. However, this was not the path that Marcos Camacho took–he became a lawyer in 1986 without taking a single law school course.

Camacho earned entry to the bar in California, one of the only states that allows students to “read law” and study as an apprentice under a veteran attorney. The program is called the Law Office Study Program, which is a three-year program run by the State Bar of California. At its core, the program involves a great deal of reading and self-teaching. In addition, students gain valuable hands-on experience as paralegals working on real cases. Rather than sitting in class every day and taking exams, students in this program learn the law through practice. While this concept may seem unconventional, it is actually very similar to the way that Abraham Lincoln became a lawyer.

Now, I’m sure that many of you are thinking the same thing right now, “a way to become a lawyer without paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for law school tuition? Sign me up!” However, it’s not that simple. This type of program requires extremely self-motivated individuals, because at the end of the day, you need to pass the bar exam whether you went to law school or not. There are no exams or deadlines–there is nothing to keep you on track or reinforce the material you are reading.

Camacho had the self-motivation to make the most out of this program, and passed the California bar exam on his first try. In 2002, he went on to become general counsel for the United Farm Workers Union, which at the time was headed by the late Cesar Chavez. Then in 2009, Camacho went into private practice in Bakersfield.

Just this past Christmas Eve, California Governor Jerry Brown called Camacho to inform him that he had been appointed to a judgeship on the Kern County Superior Court. Camacho considers this appointment to be a “tremendous honor,” and stated that he was “floored” when the governor called him and said that he had been appointed. According to the newly-appointed judge, he considered applying for a judgeship back in 2011 but decided against it when his wife of 20 years, Eva, was diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, Eva, who Camacho considered to be his biggest supporter, passed away the following year.

So while “reading law” worked for Camacho, how practical is this path? Are we likely to see people today foregoing law school and still becoming successful? At the moment, the only states to even offer such programs are Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and California. New York, Maine, and Wyoming offer programs that combine apprenticeships with law school. This is one of the several reasons that this path remains underpopulated. According to the National Conference of Bar Examiners, only 60 of the 83,986 people who took state or multi-state bar exams last year were law office readers.

In addition, finding someone that is willing to take responsibility for educating a new lawyer is no easy task. A major obstacle in choosing this path is that none of the states that offer this program provide any guidance or resources to help prospective law readers locate a supervising laywer that is willing to take someone on for an apprenticeship. All of the work must be done by the prospective student.

Additionally, bar passage rates for law readers are poor. Only 17 law readers passed last year, or 28 percent of the law readers that took the exam. When compared to the 73 percent of students that passed after graduating from institutions recognized by the American Bar Association, that does not scream success. Robert E. Glenn, who is the president of the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners describes these programs as “a cruel hoax.” He said of apprenticeships–“it’s such a waste of time for someone to spend three years in this program but not have anything at the end.”

However, there are upsides to these “law reader” programs. The first, and most obvious, is the lack of debt for students. While many law schools are making efforts to lower their tuition, law school is still a huge investment. Many today are questioning the value of a three-year legal education when considering the cost. An apprenticeship is an alternative that makes a legal education affordable and available to a more diverse population, which could be beneficial to underserved communities.

Without loans to pay back, lawyers won’t have to chase positions in big-name firms with big paychecks. Instead, they could focus on working in nonprofit, environmental, and community law. According to Janelle Orsi, the co-founder of the Sustainable Economies Law Center in California, “attorneys trained in this way will be able to be average people.”

While this may be appealing to some, it is not for everyone. Considering how competitive the legal field is today, passing the bar and securing a job at a top law firm seem to be on the forefronts of most future-lawyer’s minds. As a result, it is unlikely that we will see a rise in “legal readers” anytime soon.

Brittany Alzfan

Brittany Alzfan is a student at the George Washington University majoring in Criminal Justice. She was a member of Law Street’s founding Law School Rankings team during the summer of 2014. Contact Brittany at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Can You Become a Lawyer Without Going to Law School? appeared first on Law Street.

With the next LSAT just over a week away, 1Ls settling into that special experience we call law school, and clients wanting selfies in court, this turned out to be a great week in the world of funny legal tweets. Check out this week’s best, and then head over to #300Voices and discover the top accounts to follow for all things law and policy.

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Chelsey Goff (@cddg) is Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University in DC. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at cgoff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Garrett Heath via Flickr]

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Best Legal Tweets of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome back to “Life of a Legal Post Grad,” a column which will quite soon be serving its initial purpose: describing the life of a young legal professional navigating his way through this crazy world of the law.

By “quite soon” I mean in a couple of days. I’ve been at my job for two weeks now and I already have (awesome) stories. Stay tuned. This week, though, let’s talk about this crazy-fast transition that I’m going through in my life. Mmmmmk?

To recap: 2013 was dark. Like…Disney dark. (P.S., if you don’t get the dark undertones in most Disney movies, you should set aside a few hours this weekend and rewatch your childhood favorites, because…whoa). The lone highlight of 2013 was seeing Rihanna in concert. I kept saying, “2014 has to be better.”

Well, here we are, and 2014 is covered in light, roses, bunnies, and all other things good and cute.  I may be the happiest that I’ve ever been in my adult life. Why, you ask? Because of all the ch-ch-ch-changes!

First of all, I have a legal job that I love.  It’s only been a week and a half, but everything is coming up roses so far. I work for a really cool company, I do dynamic legal work, and I work with awesome and intelligent people. Every day I’m challenged and pushed to be better, which is what I had in mind when I first entered law school. This job actually makes me want to be a lawyer, which is new and unexpected. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT!

Second, the weather: let’s talk about wearing shorts and flip-flops in January. Or we can discuss reviewing contracts poolside. Entertain the notion of shifting the liability to a third party on the beach, even. All of these are now my options! Two weeks ago I lived in D.C.; the same D.C. that was shut down for two days last week because of the resurgence of the polar vortex (speaking of, that weather pattern really sucks).

The “downside” to life (just kidding! there is none!) is driving everywhere. I’m a walker. I’ve previously lived in Washington, D.C., Boston, and New York: all of these are major cities with wide-ranging public transportation systems and a walkable urban plan that renders ownership of a car unnecessary and burdensome. Friends, Florida is not like that; a car is a necessary part of life. Now I’m a commuter! Every morning I wake up, start my car, drive to Starbucks, and sit in highway traffic on my way to work (if you care, I take 95 to 195). This may seem normal to some, but I have literally never had to be so alert before 9:00 a.m. In fact, for the first few days of commuting, I drove in absolute silence with my hands resolutely placed at the 10:00 and 2:00 positions. Every five minutes I’d say out loud: “Don’t kill yourself or anyone else.” Luckily I’m more comfortable now, and it’s become less of a burden. Sometimes I even get a bit of road rage, and then I’m all:

All in all, I’m having an amazing time. I have a newfound admiration for the law — so much so that I plan on taking the Florida Bar exam this summer. I never thought I would voluntarily sit for the bar exam, but I figure if I want to make a life and career here, it’s the next logical step. More importantly, it’s what my instincts are telling me to do, and I’m still inclined to follow them. It’s worked out so far!

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Peter Davidson is a recent graduate of law school who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy. Tweet him @PeterDavidsonII.

Featured image courtesy of [Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose via Flickr]

Featured .gifs courtesy of [RealityTVgifs]

Peter Davidson II

Peter Davidson is a recent law school graduate who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy. Contact Peter at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Times They Are a-Changin’ appeared first on Law Street.

The Hawkeye State is thinking of making a big change to the way it deals with young law school graduates. There’s a proposal before the Iowa State Supreme Court that would allow graduates of Iowa’s law schools to practice law without passing the bar. The proposal is very specific–it would only apply to graduates of Iowa’s two law schools: The University of Iowa School of Law and Drake Law School. In order to be eligible to not take the bar, the graduates would have to remain in Iowa to practice law after graduation. They would still have to pass the ethics and background tests, as well as take a class on Iowa specific laws and legislation.

This concept is known as in-state diploma privilege, and currently, Wisconsin is the only state that officially offers it, although New Hampshire offers it on a case by case basis.

There are many pros and cons to in-state diploma privilege, and a debate about the subject has taken center stage in Iowa. The proposal is backed by the Iowa State Bar Association, as well as the dean of Drake Law School. However, the Governor of Iowa, Gov. Terry Branstad, disagrees with the idea. He stated that, “as someone who took the bar, I think they ought to take the bar.” He also pointed out that medical students are required to sit through more intensive exams before becoming doctors.

One of the pros to in-state diploma privilege is that it allows law students to begin work sooner. After graduation, law graduates have to study for the bar for a few months, and then wait for the results. There are a lot of expenses associated with not working, or working a non-permanent job during this period of limbo. They may require loans for their living expenses The Dean of Drake Law School, Allan Vestal, said, point blank that those months in between graduation and receiving bar results are “a waste of time.”

Another reason that the bar exam is being called unnecessary is that last year, only 6.8% of Iowans taking the bar didn’t pass on the first try, and most of those passed on the second time around.

On the other hand, there are certain benefits to the bar. One is that it may keep students paying attention through their third year, even if they already have a job offer. Another reason that getting rid of the bar in Iowa may be harmful is that it precludes those young lawyers from going to another state. Currently 14 states use essentially the same bar, and it’s possible to move between them without issue. If the Iowa students don’t take any bar, it may prevent them from moving to another state practice ever. While that could be good for Iowa, it would be harmful to that student.

There are other suggestions for a more middle ground approach to the Iowa bar exam. An attorney from Des Moines, Angela Campbell, has pointed out that one of the arguments against the bar is that there’s nothing really Iowa specific on it, so it should be made more relevant instead of done away with. It will be up to the State Supreme Court to see which set of arguments they agree with.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [HeatherMG via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Iowa Bar No More? appeared first on Law Street.

I joke a lot about the struggles of law school and bar prep.  I’ve done it here, and here, too.  I’ll likely do it in the future as well.  I’m beginning to realize that constantly discussing a problem is an exercise in futility if there is no talk of a solution, though.  With that in mind, let’s talk about my solution for getting through three years of law school.  It’s called working out, and more specifically for me, yoga.

The Beginning

I first discovered yoga about four months before I entered law school, when an ex of mine suggested I try a class.  I resisted for various reasons, the main two excuses being “yoga isn’t a guy sport” and “I want a real workout when I go to the gym.” Finally, after avoiding taking a class for months, I checked it out one day.  That was in April 2010, and I started attending classes semi-regularly after that.

When done correctly, yoga is a great workout and an amazing way to minimize stress in one’s life.  It’s calming and meditative, but it’s also very physically demanding and pushes your mental limits.

I was a casual yoga attendee before law school; I would go to a class a week at my gym, and only if there was nothing else more exciting occurring.  I always noted how much better I felt after a class, but I chalked that up to endorphins that accompany physical activity.

The Law School-Induced Breakthrough

During the all-important second year of law school, I was more stressed out than my first year.  (Side note: contrary to popular belief, law school gets more insane with each passing year.  If it doesn’t, you’re doing something incorrectly.)  Just going to the gym or running for thirty minutes was not having the same mental effect that it once did.  Because I was so busy, I figured the safest bet was to cut something from my schedule, and working out got the boot.  For the majority of that semester, I rarely worked out, which gave me more time to focus on school, internships, OCI, and the million other things with which second year law school students juggle.

Right around finals time, I was getting dressed to go to the library, and my jeans didn’t fit.  I was livid, and I let all of my law school friends know (in typically dramatic fashion, with a few expletives thrown in) that my legal education was not worth getting fat.

I immediately joined a yoga studio that was equidistant between my house and my school. This way I’d have no choice but to work out. The plan was to re-try yoga as a way to ease back into a fitness plan.

The Obsession

That was in November 2011, and the rest is history.

Anybody who knows me now will tell you that I’m obsessed with yoga and working out.  Something about mental and physical exertion while pushing your body to limits that you never before thought possible really calms me down.  In fact, I don’t think I’d have maintained my sanity throughout the remainder of law school without all of those down dogs and warrior positions.

Casually editing my article.

The Evolution of My Obsession into Full-Blown Addiction

This is especially true during bar prep, which I disrespectfully refer to as Guantanamo.  Guantanamo was so terrible that I went to the gym five or six times a week, just because the mood-enhancing endorphins served as a counter-balance to the joy-stealing lectures about secured transactions, trust law, and the thousand other subjects that New York insists on testing.

Even now, in my post-bar exam/pre-results purgatory, I go to the gym to counteract the stress and anxiety that accompanies the five or six “so did you pass the bar yet?” inquiries I receive a day.  In the beginning, I’d say “If I pass you’ll know, and if I don’t we’ll never talk about it again.”  Now I just say “Namaste,” which luckily is just as off-putting to some people.  Either way, I get asked less about the bar now.

All of this is to say, to everyone who is in law school and learning all of the awesome and not-so-awesome minutiae of the legal world, be sure to give yourself a physical outlet.  It may not be yoga, but definitely do something. It’s not good to be stressed out all the time, mainly because stress causes you to frown, which leaves wrinkles, which makes you look old. I suggest kickboxing—believe me, sometimes the law will make you want to punch things.

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Peter Davidson is a recent graduate of law school who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy.

Images courtesy of [Peter Davidson]

Peter Davidson II

Peter Davidson is a recent law school graduate who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy. Contact Peter at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Yoga Got Me Through Law School and the Bar Exam appeared first on Law Street.

I graduated from law school almost five months ago, in May 2013.  From late May to late July, I spent two months being depressed and suicidal, otherwise known as bar prep.

A shockingly accurate representation of summer 2013.

Post-bar, I spent a month catching up on terrible reality television, reading stupid magazines, and engaging in other activities that required little-to-no brain functionality.

Surprisingly, what I didn’t do was make a particular rush to catch up with the friends that I had effectively neglected for two and a half months.  I was in a bar exam-induced PTSD, and I couldn’t fathom being around others who had not just gone through the same level of intellectual violation and warfare.  Everyone was uncomfortably happy and upbeat about the future, and I was not in the same boat.  I knew that I had three and a half months of waiting for bar results, and that thought remained in the back of my mind every day.

As I slowly but surely reemerge into polite society from my self-imposed exile, I realize that there are so many misconceptions about life during and after law school. These funnily-flawed thoughts come from four broadly classified categories of friends.

Group 1

These are your non-legal friends who are personally and professionally winning.  People often forget that you paused your life for three years to learn the law.  Unfortunately, the world didn’t pause with you.  In fact, it seems like their lives fast-forwarded a few chapters: promotions, engagements, marriages, and home purchases are what all of my friends talk about now.

Do you know what I talk about now? (1) Funemployment—not so fun.  (2) Educational debt—tons of it.  (3) Feeling old- what’s a Miley Cyrus?  (4) Reality tv- I live vicariously through Bravolebrities.  I literally don’t know how to relate to conversations about the depreciating value of diamonds and how the engagement ring business is a genius scam.  Diamonds and engagement are so far away for me, but for everyone else it’s happening!

Sorry, smart friend  who didn’t go to law school — I can’t relate to your perfect problems.

While we spent the last 1,100-ish days creating pneumonic devices for Constitutional tests (Lemon Test= SEX= Secular purpose; no primary Effect of advancing or hindering religion; no eXcessive entanglement.  You’re welcome), your friends were at work.  They were becoming more practically skilled in their professional fields, whereas you were receiving theoretical training.  You were getting A’s and B’s, but they were getting promotions.  The reality is that even if you become a first-year associate at a top law firm, you’re at the bottom of the totem pole.  Your friends, however, are not.  Thanks, law school.

We get it, you’re happy.

See? Professionally and personally winning.

Let us catch up, guys! We were on the bench for 3-4 years and now we’re trying to get back in the game!

Group 2

These are your friends who can’t grasp what current law students and law graduates know: law school ages you! You know those side-by-side comparisons of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama from their first Presidential portrait to their second?  And how everyone remarks that they have many more wrinkles and much more gray hair.  Such is life for a person learning the law.

Everyone expects you to rage at the end of the semester, and that desire to get you blackout drunk grows exponentially when you’re done taking the bar.  Little do your friends know that, while you talk a big game about drinking your face off, all you really want to do is sleep.  Perhaps you’d like to read a non-legal book? I hear they’re interesting.  Maybe jump on that exercise fad? There’s so much to try, but it’s difficult to get off of the couch because you feel so old.

My response every time someone wants to catch up over drinks.

Law students and lawyers read a lot.  Our eyesight is terrible.  Our backs hurt from carrying so many books (unless you had a wheelie backpack, in which case…just go).  We have a severe Vitamin D deficiency, because fluorescent library lights just aren’t as healthy for humans as sunlight.

Let us get some rest and attempt to feel like real humans again.  Once we’ve accomplished that (seemingly insurmountable) goal, we will gladly have a beer with you…or twenty.

Group 3

These friends are your biggest cheerleaders, but also have no idea about the reality you face.

I love comparing the pep talks I receive with those received by other law school friends.

Friend A: “My mom said I should apply to the biggest firm in the country because they’d be lucky to have me!”  Facts:Not necessarily true.  In fact, most likely not true, especially if you’re weren’t a summer associate at the firm.

Friend B: “My parents have a friend of a friend of a friend of a cousin who met a judge with whom they think I should apply.  The judge is on the D.C. Circuit.  I wasn’t on law review.”  Facts: Not happening.  Unless you saved the life of that judge’s first born child oryou are that judge’s child, it’s not happening.

Lisa Vanderpump and I appreciate the sentiment, but you’re wrong.

Friend C: “I’m pretty sure I failed the bar, but all of my friends say I definitely passed because I studied so hard.”  Fact: Actually, it’s a total toss up and we don’t find out until November, because bar examiners are sick and twisted people.  Also, the bar is a test that requires minimum competency, which is tough to gauge!

Friend D: “You’ll find a job, you’re smart!” Fact: Yes, but so is every other unemployed kid with a JD, and every unemployed actual attorney, so…. next.

The moral to this group of friends? We get it; you’re doing your job and being supportive and nice.  You, however, are incorrect about most of the smoke you’re blowing.

Enough is enough! Stop being such a good friend, right Taylor?

We secretly really appreciate it, though.

Group 4

This group is the best: the friends who work for big law and aren’t yet used to their new lifestyles.

The most inadvertent comments from them remind you of the stark differences of your post-graduation paths.

Like, how can you not sympathize with someone who hasn’t cooked in weeks because the firm insists on feeding them breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

Seriously, guys, sometimes you want to walk home after a long day in the office, but if you stay past a certain hour, you have to take a car service.  Ugh.

Would you believe there are people out there suffering the indignity of business class? I’d quit.

Their comments are equally representative of their acceptance of the monumental change in their lives and the shock that all of this is happening to them.  They get a lot of perks, but they work all the time.  Some of them really enjoy what they do (FREAKS), and some of them feel the exact opposite way.

They always remind you how lucky you are that you are still looking for work, or that your job lets you leave at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, or 10:00.  The grass is always greener, right?

You’re of course genuinely thrilled for them, too. It’s always nice to have a bunch of friends at a bunch of firms, especially if you’re considering running for public office one day (wink wink nudge nudge Citizens United, anyone?).

Seriously, donate to my Senate campaign in 2026!

Are there any other groups I’m missing? Let me know in the comments!

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Featured image courtesy of [Jesse Vaughan via Flickr]

(all .gifs provided by the genius T. Kyle MacMahon from Reality TV .gifs.)

Peter Davidson II

Peter Davidson is a recent law school graduate who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy. Contact Peter at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Simple Classification of Friends in a Post-J.D. World appeared first on Law Street.