Bar Exam - The Indiana Lawyer

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.

External webcams, quiet rooms among details for first-ever remote bar exam in July

May 29, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

The nearly 500 applicants who have registered to take the Indiana Bar Exam in July will need to have external webcams, quiet rooms and be prepared to write extensively for the test that will be given remotely for the first time because of the coronavirus pandemic.

New attorneys get help navigating COVID-19 in ISBA program

May 28, 2020 | IL Staff

An Indiana State Bar Association online program geared toward newly admitted attorneys is hoping to prepare and equip new lawyers on how to begin their legal careers in the midst of uncertain times posed by COVID-19.

Indiana Supreme Court providing certainty in uncertain times

May 27, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

The July bar exam is one example of the Supreme Court’s nimbleness as it moves in a new direction to help recent law school graduates and new lawyers overcome the stress and hardship created by the pandemic. Within the span of roughly two months, the justices moved the May admission ceremony online so those who passed the February bar could begin their legal careers as soon as possible and established the graduate legal intern program to give 2020 graduates the option of getting a limited license.

113 pass Indiana Bar Exam in February

May 27, 2020 | IL Staff

Indiana Lawyer congratulates the following 113 applicants who passed the February 2020 Indiana Bar Exam, many of whom took their oath as new attorneys during a virtual admission ceremony May 5.

‘I hear a roar’: May 2020 bar admittees make history with virtual admission ceremony

May 13, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

The May 2020 Indiana Bar Admission Ceremony was historic in several respects. Aside from taking place during a global pandemic, it was Indiana’s first virtual bar admission and the first where every admittee — all 105 — participated.

Indiana greenlights July bar exam as one-day test

May 7, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

The Indiana Supreme Court will be offering the bar exam in July, but the normal two-day, in-person test will be condensed to a one-day exam that will be given remotely, the court announced.

Virtual admission ceremony emphasizes storied themes

May 5, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

In unprecedented times, the state’s newest lawyers made history by being admitted to the Indiana Bar Tuesday morning in the first-ever virtual Indiana Supreme Court Admission Ceremony.

Spring 2020 Indiana bar admission ceremony to be held online amid COVID-19

April 28, 2020 | IL Staff

New lawyers prepared to take their oaths during the Spring 2020 Indiana Supreme Court Admission Ceremony will have to do so virtually, the high court announced Tuesday. The admission ceremony will not be held in a traditional brick-and-mortar location, but will instead be livestreamed at 10 a.m. May 5.

Coronavirus forces law schools online, leaves students to navigate new reality, learn timeless lessons

April 15, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

For students at law schools across the country, the global pandemic forced a breakneck shift from in-person classes and on-campus activities to distance learning as colleges and universities closed buildings and dorms to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Legal education confronts the pandemic

April 15, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

The coronavirus emergency is forcing many changes to legal education in Indiana. Law schools and the judiciary are changing procedures, canceling events and finding alternatives as the prohibitions on large gatherings appear likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Indiana Supreme Court allowing graduates to work as legal interns

April 9, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Noting the uncertainty over whether the bar exam will be administered in July, the Indiana Supreme Court has issued an order that will allow the law school Class of 2020 to represent clients and do legal work on a limited basis.

Attorney suspended for failure to disclose in bar exam application

April 8, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

An attorney who failed to disclose in his bar exam application complaints made against him has been suspended from the practice of law effective immediately, the Indiana Supreme Court announced Tuesday.

Less than half pass February bar exam, early results show

April 6, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

The slump in passing rates for the Indiana bar exam is continuing with February’s preliminary results being the lowest recorded in Indiana in recent years. Just 46 percent of the 246 test takers passed, initial results show.

Indiana law schools post changing fortunes in first-time bar passage rates

February 24, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Newly released data from the American Bar Association shows the bar passage rate for first-time takers is improving at IU Maurer and Notre Dame but slipping at IU McKinney.

IU McKinney welcomes first dean candidate

January 22, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Milena Sterio, an associate dean at Cleveland State University Marshall College of Law and an expert in international law, is the first of the four candidates for the dean’s position at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law to visit the IUPUI campus and meet with faculty, students and alumni.

Uniform Bar Exam adoption not unanimous

January 8, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Of Indiana’s four neighboring states, one has adopted the Uniform Bar Exam, one is preparing to adopt, one is expected to adopt and one is not even considering adoption.

Many see advantages in Uniform Bar Exam

January 8, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Working at a Fort Wayne law firm before enrolling in law school, Julia Kosnik saw the benefit of being able to help clients across state lines from a partner who was licensed in both Indiana and Michigan. “It would be so much easier if I could take the (Uniform Bar Exam) and practice in both states,” Kosnik said. “I’m hoping they move in that direction.”

Shepard and Vaidik: Time for reform in the Indiana Bar Exam

December 25, 2019

The change we recommend would empower us with the best testing procedures that modern testing has been able to create — fairer and more reliable, and formulated by lawyers, judges and law teachers in collaboration with testing experts. It would also help us assure that the Indiana examination doesn’t work to create adverse results for minority applicants.

Panel recommends adopting Uniform Bar Exam to enhance fairness, reliability

December 25, 2019 | Marilyn Odendahl

With Indiana already incorporating two components from the Uniform Bar Examination into its own attorney admittance test, a study commission formed to review and recommend changes to state’s bar exam is advocating Indiana pick up the remaining component and transition completely to the UBE. But three commission members cautioned against the move, saying the state would be relinquishing control of its own test.

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