ABA recommends dropping LSAT requirement

For first-timers it's higher; for repeaters it's lower.

For those reading the law, first-time rates are lower than the group as a whole, but repeaters go way up.

The best are Unaccredited DL first-timers, at 40%. The worst are grads from CalBar-accredited schools. None passed (neither first-timers nor repeaters). That's a little bit stunning.

 

Ouch, really? So what does that mean for Ms Kardashian? By the way, I thought she got credit for all her studies before and after the Baby Bar but I've read elsewhere that in fact she didn't pass within four administrations and therefore gets credit only for the first year. Do we know which?

 

I thought you only ever got credit for the first year no matter how long it takes you to pass the Baby Bar, but I was wrong!

"Students must pass the baby bar within three administrations of the test after they first become eligible upon their completion of the first year of law school. Failing to do so can result in loss of the credits for legal study accrued prior to the baby bar.

If you pass the baby bar outside of this window only one year of law study credit is granted toward the legal education requirements necessary to qualify for the California Bar Exam. These requirements are set out in Section 6060(h)(1) of the California Business and Professions Code"

https://lawstudents.findlaw.com/the-bar-exam/what-is-the-baby-bar.html

 

I think they extended it to four administrations during the pandemic.

 

Kim Kardashian join DegreeInfo, you're one of us, challenge.

 

It's been my understanding for decades that NONE of one's studies past the first year count until the Baby Bar is passed, whether you're reading the law or studying at an unaccredited school. That's what John Bear put in his books all this time. Was this mistaken?

 

If I'm reading this correctly, it is the first year's credit for study that becomes at risk; that if a student doesn't pass the Baby Bar within the prescribed number of times, none of his/her time spent studying the law will count.

Further, no study beyond the first year counts until after the Baby Bar is passed.

Is that accurate?

 

I think the rule changed since Bear's 15th. Pre Covid, if you passed the Baby Bar in the first three administrations after you became eligible, you got credit for the first (of four, remember) years plus the year or maybe year and a half additional years you might have put in before passing. After failing (or not attempting) those three chances you could still pass but get credit only for the first year. For Covid they added one administration. The exam is offered twice a year.

Anyway that's how I think it is working now.

 

Avoiding the Baby Bar is one big advantage to going to an ABA or CalBar approved school. Another advantage is the ability to complete the degree in six semesters instead of eight. Another advantage (?) is that approved schools are eligible for regional accreditation and therefore student loans.

Not sure whether that last one really is an advantage.

 

I once mentioned around here that I thought the easiest and cheapest way to gain a California law license with a reasonable chance of early success on the general Bar exam would be to attend the first year part-time in the evenings at a CalBar accredited school then shift to correspondence study for the remaining three years. That first year would two useful things; 1) gain exemption from taking the Baby Bar and 2) give the student a better exposure to the fundamentals of law and lawyering in a classroom setting. Once those things are accomplished it doesn't really matter much how the student acquires the remaining credits.

 

I wonder if graduates of correspondence law programs find jobs as attorneys? Or do they fold in their law degree and license into their existing practices/careers?

Once you're past the more prestigious law schools, how much does it matter where you got your degree, assuming you also got your law license?

 

I don't know. I have worked with a few California lawyers who got their degrees from CalBar schools and moved to New Mexico after a four or five years of practice. Not at all unknown for them to work for State and local government. I don't think most employers care. Of course, who knows about the feds.

 

One young Californian got her J.D. from the Thomas Jefferson Law School before it obtained ABA provisional approval. She paid the (much) lower tuition a CalBar school charges but just as she was completing her degree the ABA granted provisional accreditation. She was golden for the New Mexico Bar. Good lawyer, too.

 

"Prestige" in general applies only to the Top 14 and only for jobs as law professors, higher level federal appointments, and Big Law associate positions. Having said that, regional schools do enjoy a preference in their regions. It's all the same "Old School Tie" that so disgusts me.

 

For a while you could get bright red University of Phoenix socks, but I don't think they worked as well

 

I know someone who couldn’t pass the bar but passed some kind of federal tax enrolled agent credential and has done well doing taxes. If you don’t pass the Bar, you are not an attorney! However, people find a niche like accounting and taxes. I’m guessing they can still sign their name, CPA, JD or JD with enrolled agent just not “attorney at law.”

 

That's not a trivial exam, by the way. I passed it before signing up for my Taft LL.M. program. Good move, too, since I had to learn rather technical tax stuff in the process and that made diving into tax law easier.

 

Referring to the enrolled agent process? Any thoughts on signing your name with JD without passing the Bar?

 

Right. It's not as broad or demanding as the CPA exam of course. Few things are. But anyone wishing to pass will have to put in some significant study time.

 

Many states have laws that you can't list "MD" after your name even though you earned one, if doing so would imply to the person that you are licensed to practice medicine when you are not. This generally means any profession where it would be useful to do so (e.g. working for a pharma company.) Similarly, this article notes that context matters and that even though you earned the JD, you can get into trouble listing the JD in your signature while doing work where legal issues are involved: https://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/tussle_over_titles