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.
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.
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.
New lawyers preparing to launch their fledgling legal careers in 2020 look similar to the generations that came before them, but some things set millennial lawyers apart. Their ever-evolving professional aspirations and career trajectories appear less traditional than the routes taken by their predecessors in decades past.
Examining a witness online made Sarah Kelly a little disconcerted. The Indiana University Maurer School of Law student was part of the patent trial class that spends an entire semester preparing a patent case then culminates in a mock trial. Typically the pseudo litigation takes place in a courtroom before a jury and real judge, but this year the COVID-19 emergency pushed the courtroom battle online.
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.
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.
Five Indiana University Maurer School of Law faculty members were honored with annual teaching awards, the law school announced last week.
Hoosier law students shuttered indoors amidst calls to stay at home in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 can still find comfort and support through weekly virtual meetings hosted by the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program.
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.
Laine Gonzalez has the distinction of being IU McKinney’s first IP Law Scholar, a program in partnership with Brinks Gilson & Lione designed to train the next generation of intellectual property lawyers.
Andrew Royer has been granted a new trial after a special judge determined his 2005 trial was tainted by false evidence and coercive investigative techniques that exploited his mental disability. But the possibility of a retrial remains.
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.
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.
As potential law students are wondering whether they will be able to take the LSAT as scheduled this spring, those preparing to graduate law school are likely to be graded in their final term on a pass/fail basis.
The 2020 National Mock Trial Championship scheduled to take place in Evansville this May has been canceled due to coronavirus crisis, leaving event organizers heartbroken and disappointed.
Calling REACH “a beautiful program,” Kenny Lewis credited the federal court re-entry initiative with giving him the perseverance to stay at his job and teaching him to speak louder so others could hear what he had to say. Baker and the other members of the REACH team described Lewis as a model participant who not only exhibited tremendous character and did everything expected of him, but also encouraged and supported his fellow participants.
William Adams, a 1978 graduate of Indiana University Maurer School of Law, has been selected as managing director of Accreditation and Legal Education at the American Bar Association, the group whose duties include training law school site evaluation teams, collecting law school data and providing guidance on compliance.
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law has chosen one of its own, vice dean and professor Karen Bravo, to replace outgoing dean Andrew Klein. The school announced its choice at the end of a nationwide search in a letter to faculty and staff today.
While various programs such as the Conference for Legal Education Opportunity encourage more diverse attorneys in the legal profession, a career in the law still seems unattainable for some. But many new attorneys are sharing their experiences with students in middle schools and high schools in hopes of showing what the profession has to offer.