Indiana Supreme Court justices gathered Tuesday morning to answer questions about e-filing goals, bar exam concerns and increased rates of self-reported lawyer and judge wellbeing, among other highlights of the court’s 2017-2018 annual report.
The overall pass rate for the Indiana Bar Exam continued its decline, with the July results showing 62 percent of all the takers successfully completing the test. First-time takers in July 2018 passed at a rate of 72 percent, while only 32 percent of repeat takers passed this year.
Every jurisdiction evaluates applicants for character and fitness, according to the 2018 Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements published by the National Conference of Bar Examiners in collaboration with the American Bar Association. But Indiana is among a handful of states that mandates all applicants for the bar undergo a character and fitness review.
The Indiana Lawyer congratulates those listed here on passing the February 2018 Indiana Bar Exam. Many of these new lawyers participated in an admission ceremony May 15 in Indianapolis.
Denia Perez’s parents brought her from Mexico to the United States illegally when she was 11 months old. Last month, she became among the first of the so-called “Dreamers” to earn a law degree. And now, she and others are using their lawyerly know-how to take on the system so they can legally practice.
During the Indiana Supreme Court Admission Ceremony Tuesday in downtown Indianapolis, the state’s newest attorneys were reminded that how they conduct themselves as human beings will be just as important in their careers as their knowledge of the law.
The troubled relationship that would-be lawyers have with the Indiana Bar Exam continues as the preliminary 47 percent overall passage rate from February 2018 is the lowest on record.
The bar passage rate is continuing its downward trend, with only 47 percent of all takers passing the February 2018 Indiana bar exam.
Calling it a “comprehensive report,” the American Bar Association released a series of spreadsheets Thursday which presented the ultimate two-year bar passage rate for 2015 graduates as well as the bar passage rates for first-time takers in 2016 and 2017 from each accredited law school.
Here is the list of lawyers who passed the Indiana Bar Exam in July, many of whom took their oaths as lawyers at the Admission Ceremony Oct. 16.
Chief Justice Loretta Rush said she was worried and concerned about slumping bar exam scores. She echoed the apprehension of many about the quality of students being admitted to law schools and she noted the format of the test itself may be impacting the results.
There are 337 new lawyers in the state today after results of the July Indiana Bar Exam were announced.
A convicted felon who graduated from Yale Law School and won acclaim as a poet is being asked by a Connecticut committee to prove his “good moral character” before he is allowed to practice law.
Although the House of Delegates rejected the proposal in February, the American Bar Association is still taking steps to tighten the bar passage requirements for law schools.
The February 2017 bar exam results brought a fresh round of disappointment to the Indiana legal community and a renewed conversation about why the scores keep dropping.
As a young man, just graduated from law school with a wife, a baby and a mortgage, Tim Malloy suddenly had to figure out a Plan B after he failed the Illinois Bar Exam.