Recognizing a need to increase its engagement with younger attorneys, the Indiana State Bar Association last year launched two initiatives that the bar and participants say are showing promising results — a law school outreach effort and an emphasis on programming on a “living life as a lawyer” track.
As classes begin for the 2018-2019 academic year, all Indiana law schools are marking historical milestones.
Even while the total number of entry-level law firm jobs is still below the pre-recession peak, the employment stats for the 2018 law school graduates improved, primarily because the smaller size of last year’s class meant fewer new lawyers were looking for work.
The Indianapolis man facing a possible death penalty for allegedly killing a Southport police officer is scheduled to appear in court Friday with a new legal team, including the former dean of Valparaiso University Law School.
During my initial campus visits to Indiana law schools, I encountered several students who manifested the stressors of their academic environment in a number of ways. Some had turned to alcohol and other drugs, sometimes resulting in serious consequences such as DUI arrests and academic probation. Others demonstrated noticeable signs and symptoms of mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression.
Law schools must now have 75 percent of their graduates pass the bar exam within two years of completing their J.D. degrees after a twice-defeated accreditation standard was approved Friday by the American Bar Association. Opponents worry the change will hurt efforts to diversify the legal profession.
More than 80 percent of the 2018 graduates from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and Notre Dame Law School were employed in a full-time, long-term bar passage required or J.D. advantage jobs roughly 10 months after finishing their studies, according to statistics from the American Bar Association.
As commencement nears for Hoosier students across the state, four speakers are preparing to address the law school classes of 2019.
Courtship season is in full bloom, but forget loving and cherishing — these “marriages” are about test scores, rankings and scholarships. Law schools are proposing their best offers while applicants are trying to decide if the match is meant to be or if they may be able to do better.
The 2016 graduates from two Indiana law schools have exceeded the national two-year bar passage rate of 88.57 percent, according to recently released data from the American Bar Association.
Valparaiso Law School has gained approval from the American Bar Association for its plan to teach the remaining students and award them J.D. degrees before the institution closes in 2020.
The U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 list of the best law schools brought mixed results for Indiana with two institutions slipping in the rankings and all three having well over 60 percent of students graduate with average debt of more than $90,000.
Valparaiso Law School has indicated it plans to remain open through the 2019-2020 academic year to teach-out the last class of students slated to graduate from the 139-year-old institution.
Indiana Lawyer’s top story of 2018 began inside an Indianapolis bar in the cool early-morning hours of Thursday, March 15. Attorney General Curtis Hill had had a few drinks. A few too many, several witnesses would later claim.
As bar exam passage rates continue to decline and a majority of states move to a Uniform Bar Examination, the Indiana Supreme Court is taking steps to determine if the Hoosier state should follow suit and change its gateway test for admission to the Indiana bar.
Amid slumping passage rates, the Indiana Supreme Court has created a special commission to review the state’s bar exam and make recommendations for changes in format or content, including whether to modify what is considered a passing score.
Despite disappointment over the decision to close the 139-year-old law school, leaders in the Indiana legal profession said they could not have done anything to change the outcome. Selecting students, hiring faculty, developing curriculum and maintaining finances are all internal workings of a law school.
After the Tennessee Commission of Higher Education rejected the transfer plans between Valparaiso Law School and Middle Tennessee State University, the northwest Indiana institution had no other options. Although the decision to close may not have surprised many, especially since the university had been upfront about the troubles the legal education program was having, it was still an emotional blow.
Valparaiso Law School, founded in 1879, will be ceasing operations after a search for alternatives to remain open ended in disappointment. In an announcement Tuesday, Valparaiso University stated it will continue to teach-out the current law students in a timely manner and then cease operations.
The work to move the law school from Valparaiso to Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro has stopped, and both schools have indicated they are not going to continue to pursue the transfer, leaving the fate of Valparaiso Law School uncertain.