ABA group publishes report on lawyer well-being during the pandemic
ABA JOURNAL — The challenges confronting the legal profession as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have been a prime focus of the ABA Midyear Meeting. The ABA Coordinating Group on Practice Forward provided a peek at results of a new ABA survey seeking to better understand issues that have impacted lawyers at work and at home.
Read More about ABA group publishes report on lawyer well-being during the pandemicABA President Patricia Lee Refo says association on ‘promising path forward’ at mid-year meeting
ABA JOURNAL — Refo said the ABA is already on a “promising path forward,” and she provided the House with an overview of its work. The Task Force on Legal Needs Arising out of the 2020 Pandemic has drawn attention to the eviction crisis and lobbied Congress for the need for rent relief for tenants and landlords.
Read More about ABA President Patricia Lee Refo says association on ‘promising path forward’ at mid-year meetingCalifornia opens applications for retroactive bar admission under new lower bar exam pass score
ABA JOURNAL — Provisional licensure applications, for people who recently did not pass the California bar exam but would have with the new cut score, are now open. People who took the California bar exam between July 2015 and February 2020 and scored no lower than 1390 on the exam are eligible, according to a news release.
Read More about California opens applications for retroactive bar admission under new lower bar exam pass scoreTexas Board of Law Examiners offers make-up bar exam in March for those affected by storm
ABA JOURNAL — Following Texas’ freezing February weather, which led to power outages, disrupted water service and more than 20 deaths, according to CNN, the Texas Board of Law Examiners announced Friday that it would offer a makeup bar exam in March in addition to the test that starts Tuesday. The makeup exam is remote.
Read More about Texas Board of Law Examiners offers make-up bar exam in March for those affected by stormLaw school deans ask to delay reporting graduate employment data to the ABA due to the pandemic
ABA JOURNAL — Law school deans have asked the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar to push back law graduate employment data deadline from March to June. The data is usually made public in the spring or early summer. The pandemic has pushed back many bar exams and led to economic shutdowns.
Read More about Law school deans ask to delay reporting graduate employment data to the ABA due to the pandemicReport: Underrepresented lawyers are leaving law firms at a high rate
ABA JOURNAL — More minorities are getting hired as associates, but law firm leadership is mostly white and male because of a diversity “bottleneck” and higher rates of minority attrition, according to an ABA survey report. The 2020 Model Diversity Survey Report is the first ABA report on diversity, equity and inclusion in law firm practice.
Read More about Report: Underrepresented lawyers are leaving law firms at a high rateLewis & Clark Law professor Lisa Benjamin participates in ABA section on Civil Rights and Social Justice series on Black History Month
LEWIS AND CLARK LAW SCHOOL — Professor Lisa Benjamin is participating in a series of webinars the ABA section on Civil Rights and Social Justice is doing during the month of February in honor of Black History Month. Benjamin will be a panelist on Climate Effects on Communities of Color February 26.
Read More about Lewis & Clark Law professor Lisa Benjamin participates in ABA section on Civil Rights and Social Justice series on Black History MonthLegal recruiter’s list of ‘attorneys law firms avoid’ underscores profession’s diversity issues
ABA JOURNAL — Prestigious law firms avoid hiring 23 types of lawyers, according to Harrison Barnes, the managing director and founder of BCG Attorney Search, a legal recruiting firm. The article—written four years ago—sparked outrage among observers who said eliminating certain categories of job candidates hampers diversity.
Read More about Legal recruiter’s list of ‘attorneys law firms avoid’ underscores profession’s diversity issuesReport: Among states offering both online and in-person bar exams, in-person test-takers had higher pass rates
ABA JOURNAL — Most jurisdictions saw bar exam pass rates increase in 2020, regardless of whether they had in-person or online exams. However, in three states that offered both types of exams, online test-takers didn’t do as well. Many candidates were slower with practice essays on the online platform.
Read More about Report: Among states offering both online and in-person bar exams, in-person test-takers had higher pass ratesLawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law seeks to stop California’s use of facial recognition technology for its online bar exam
ABA JOURNAL — The use of facial recognition technology with the remote bar exam could have an unlawful disparate impact on test-takers who are women or people of color, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law wrote in a Feb. 10 demand letter, which was sent to the State Bar of California.
Read More about Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law seeks to stop California’s use of facial recognition technology for its online bar exam