Law Schools - The Indiana Lawyer

Entering the unknown: New, returning law students grapple with pandemic-related changes

September 16, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

Bre Robinson’s final year of law school has been different in every way possible. Just a few weeks into a pandemic-stricken semester, the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law Student Bar Association president said classmates are sparse. Robinson isn’t alone in that sentiment. As students nationwide make their way into a new school year, social distancing guidelines and uncertainty are following them.

Bar applicants ace August 2020 exam

September 8, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Indiana’s unprecedented bar exam that was reformatted and delayed until August 2020 because of the coronavirus has turned in a pass rate that tops the previous four years. Almost three-quarters of those who took the remote test passed, according to the list released Tuesday.

Newest students add more diversity to Hoosier law schools

September 2, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Indiana’s law schools have enrolled diverse and academically solid 1L classes for the fall 2020 semester, indicating the COVID-19 pandemic did not adversely impact the recruitment of students by the institutions.

Web Exclusive: Young lawyers say hefty student loans limit life after graduation

September 2, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

A recent survey of nearly 1,100 young lawyers found that many new attorneys are making major financial, personal and career sacrifices as a result of their student loans. That includes decisions ranging from marriage and children to making big purchases or taking vacations. The survey hits home for many young Indiana lawyers.

Indiana in shrinking minority as Kentucky adopts UBE

August 19, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

In an order issued by the Kentucky Supreme Court on Friday, the commonwealth has joined the growing list of states adopting the Uniform Bar Exam, putting Indiana in an even smaller group of non-UBE jurisdictions.

IU McKinney professors contribute to assessment of U.S. response to COVID-19

August 18, 2020 | IL Staff

United States policy response to COVID-19 has been dangerously lacking, according to a recent report authored partially by two Indianapolis law professors. The new report recommends steps to safeguard health as well as civil and human rights.

Advice on CARES Act’s freezing of student loan payments till 2021

August 13, 2020 | Associated Press analysis

People with federal student loans don’t have to make another federal payment in 2020. Now is the time, though, to decide what to do before your bill arrives in January 2021.

Report: Law school Class of 2019 had best employment rate since Great Recession

August 12, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

A new jobs report from National Association for Law Placement says law school graduates in 2019 enjoyed some of the best of times while nodding to fears that the 2020 graduates may experience the worst of times.

Problems, complaints absent from remote bar exam

August 7, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

After a series of software failures, increasing anxiety and a quick pivot to another format, Indiana administered the state’s first remote bar exam Tuesday without an apparent glitch.

Notre Dame Law’s Religious Liberty Clinic expects broad reach

August 5, 2020 | Olivia Covington

Notre Dame Law School’s new Religious Liberty Clinic is designed to train lawyers in all practice areas to grapple with issues of religious freedom. “It’s critical that if we fight for freedom of religion, it’s for freedom of all religious faiths or no faith at all,” Dean G. Marcus Cole said.

Legal community mourns passing of long-time Floyd Co. prosecutor Henderson

August 3, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Keith Henderson, who served as Floyd County prosecuting attorney for nearly 20 years, died Aug. 1 at his home surrounded by his family following a battle with Lyme disease. He was 59.

Faulty bar exam software tossed in favor of emails, open books

July 29, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

The Indiana Supreme Court issued an order Wednesday again revamping the July 2020 bar exam, opting to send test questions by email and allowing applicants to refer to notes and course materials during the test. The test is still scheduled to be administered remotely Tuesday under the new format.

Law schools expecting enrollment to remain steady

July 28, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Despite the upheaval and uncertainty the pandemic has created for legal education, law school admissions officers are confident the first-year class entering in the fall of 2020 will be the same size, if not bigger, than the class that started in the fall of 2019.

Software headaches adding to bar exam worries

July 24, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Two business days from the July 2020 bar exam, some Indiana applicants are reporting problems with the software and adding more anxiety that they will not even be able to log on to take the test Tuesday.

Indiana bar applicants’ petition for open-book exam rejected

July 23, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

A late change in the way the Indiana bar exam will be administered has raised sufficient fears of some applicants about the potential for wide-spread cheating that they are asking the test to be open-book. But the Indiana Supreme Court rejected a petition from dozens of law school graduates who will take the bar exam remotely next week.

‘As good as, but different’: Law schools prepare to welcome students

July 22, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

After the COVID-19 outbreak upended the spring semester and forced everyone to shift to online learning, Indiana’s law schools are preparing to welcome students and faculty back into their buildings for a fall semester that will be unlike any other.

IU McKinney students experience 2nd year of rural judicial clerkships

July 21, 2020 | IL Staff

A second round of Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law students have been dispatched across the state this summer to assist rural county judges through a judicial clerkship program, despite setbacks caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Bittersweet memories for Valparaiso Law School alums

June 24, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Before the signs were taken down and the remnants of the past 140 years were put into an archive, Nadia Wardrip took her 2-year-old daughter to Valparaiso Law School at the end of May to snap a couple of photos. The Lake County deputy prosecutor had spent 12 hours a day, six days a week at the law school so she could become a prosecutor, as she had dreamed of doing since high school. Going back one last time helped her explain to her little girl how she became who she is.

As story concludes after more than 140 years, faculty reflect on Valparaiso Law School’s legacy

June 24, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

In a final twist of cruelty, the final graduating class of Valparaiso Law School and the alumni did not get to gather one final time to commemorate their alma mater. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented faculty, alumni and friends from saying goodbye together. So the institution closed quietly after the class of 2020 concluded their studies in May, ending a tenure in legal education that began in 1879.

IndyBar Review Prep Course Lives On Amidst Pandemic

June 24, 2020 | From IndyBar

During the current health crisis, the Indianapolis Bar Association remains committed to its responsibility to support and equip law students with practical skills and knowledge to thrive as a young lawyer in Indianapolis. It is for that reason we’ve modified and adapted our IndyBar Review prep course, the most comprehensive bar prep course in the region, keeping in mind the same goal to prepare students for the July 2020 Indiana Bar Examination.

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