Nine jurisdictions plan remote bar exam for July 2021

March 12, 2021

ABA JOURNAL — California’s July 2021 bar exam will be remote, the California Supreme Court announced Friday. The first testing day, on July 27, will consist of five one-hour essay questions and a 90-minute performance test, according to the administrative order. A total 200 multiple-choice questions will be given July 28.

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AccessLex launches database of law school scholarships and writing competition awards

March 12, 2021

ABA JOURNAL — A database of law school scholarships, with search filters for things like award amounts, essay requirements and locations, was announced today by AccessLex, a nonprofit that focuses on increasing access to legal education. The Law School Scholarship Databank lists almost 800 offerings, according to its website.

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Four additional law schools now back in compliance with ABA bar passage standard

March 12, 2021

ABA JOURNAL — In May, the ABA found 10 law schools did not meet an accreditation standard requiring a bar passage rate of at least 75% within two years of graduation; but as of February, six have now demonstrated compliance. The council posted notices stating that the following law schools are now in compliance with the standard.

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University of Minnesota Law students ask school to acknowledge challenges of the pandemic on transcripts

March 12, 2021

ABA JOURNAL — The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on many student population groups, and law students at the University of Minnesota Law School are asking that it be mentioned in the transcript for the 2020-2021 academic year. Shantal Pai, a third-year law student, drafted a petition for the notation.

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Using sign language, University of Virginia Law student Jehanne McCullough contributes to federal appeals win

March 12, 2021

ABA JOURNAL — Jehanne McCullough, a University of Virginia School of Law student who is deaf, recently argued a federal excessive force appeal through the school’s appellate clinic, and three American Sign Language interpreters were also involved in the process. McCullough, a 3L, signed oral arguments with one interpreter.

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Student group files lawsuit challenging race-conscious admissions policy at Yale University

March 12, 2021

ABA JOURNAL — Students for Fair Admissions has filed a lawsuit challenging race-conscious admissions policies at Yale University less than a month after the U.S. Department of Justice dropped a bias suit that it filed against the school during the Trump administration.

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ABA rejects law school deans’ request to delay reporting of graduate employment data due to the pandemic

March 4, 2021

ABA JOURNAL — The council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar will not be granting a request to push the employment data deadline from March to June. Issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a Feb. 10 letter signed by law school deans in New York, New Jersey and California requesting the delay.

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ABA urges government to expand loan assistance and forgiveness programs for law graduates

March 4, 2021

REUTERS — The American Bar Association passed a resolution Monday that throws the lawyer group’s weight behind political efforts to aid law school graduates drowning in debt, as the Biden administration grapples with how to best address that issue. The resolution urges Congress and the Biden administration to implement measures.

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Roger Williams Law professor Jenna Wims Hashway provides advice to incoming law students

March 4, 2021

ABA FOR LAW STUDENTS — If you were leaving your home for a month, you’d prepare, right? Your first year of law school can also feel a lot like you’ve walked away from your “normal life” for a while. It’s not so much a vacation as it is a visit to another planet.

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ABA House of Delegates approves resolution urging bar examiners to allow test-takers to carry feminine hygiene products into bar exam sites

March 4, 2021

ABA JOURNAL — The right of bar examinees to bring tampons and pads with them was addressed in a measure overwhelmingly approved by the House of Delegates at the ABA Midyear Meeting on Monday. Resolution 105 calls on the bar admission authority in each jurisdiction to permit test-takers to take menstrual products into the bar exam.

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