Cleveland Law Library Weblog

Almost 1,000 Pass the Ohio Bar Exam

In typical Halloween-time tradition, the July Ohio Bar Exam results are out. According to the Ohio Supreme Court, almost 1,000 candidates passed the July 2009 bar exam at the rate of 81.3% of all test takers. First-timers scored a little better at an 87.8% success rate. Click here to open the entire list of happy candidates who will be sworn in at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, November 9th.

Jones Day Partner Rawson to Continue as Case Law School Dean

The Plain Dealer reports that Jones Day partner, Robert Rawson, will continue as the Dean of the Case Law School until mid-2011. High on his list of priorities for the remainder of his tenure are creating a strategic plan, raising money for more scholarships, and enhancing the school's career services division. Rawson received his JD from Harvard, a Masters from Oxford in England, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and his A.B. from Princeton, where he was Phi Beta Kappa.

Students Taking Ohio Bar Exam Treated to Food, Massages, and a Puppy to Pet

Both the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Canton Repository reported on the pampering Ohio bar candidates received down in Columbus during their 3-day ordeal taking the Ohio Bar exam. In addition to food, coffee,  and other drinks (presumably non-alcoholic), they were treated with massages and the chance to pet a puppy to relieve their stress. I remember sitting outside Vet's Memorial in Columbus in the late 1980's with friends eating bag lunches on breaks from the bar exam. How things have changed. Click here to read another article from the ABA Journal online.

"Legal Interns" Can Now Represent More Clients in Ohio

Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court announced that it has significantly expanded the types of cases in which "Legal Interns" can represent criminal and juvenile defendants. These changes, which will be effective on August 1st, were made as unanimous amendments to Rule II of the Rules for the Government of the Bar.  Click here to read our prior post about the process leading up to the new changes.

U.S. News Law School Rankings Rank Case Law School 55th

The new U.S. News law school rankings are out, with the expected leaders like Yale and Harvard at the top. To its credit, Case Western Reserve University Law School came in 55th in the top 100.The rankings are also helpful because they list tuition and enrollment figures and rank schools by specialized areas such as dispute resolution, healthcare law and international law.

Should Legal Interns Be Allowed to Represent Felons?

The Ohio Supreme Court is considering amending Rule II of the Rules for the Government of the Bar of Ohio to allow law students who become certified legal interns to represent alleged felons or juveniles who are accused of committing a crime that would be considered a felony if committed by an adult. The present Rule allows interns to represent clients at legal clinics, legal aid offices, and public defenders' offices, as well as handle matters involving civil or administrative matters, misdemeanor cases, and juvenile cases (excluding felonies). Under the proposed changes, legal interns would still have to be supervised by a "supervising attorney," but these individuals would have to certify that they would perform all duties required in the Rule. Click here to read the text of the proposed changes. According to the Supreme Court's Press Release, the Court is accepting comments on the proposed changes until October 29, 2008.

Humorous Video on YouTube about Hiring Law Students

If you are looking to hire a law student, or have done so recently, you will find this video hilarious. I was laughing out loud by the time it was over:

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/law_librarian_blog/2008/08/friday-fun-welc.html

Would You Have Wanted to Finish Law School in 2 Years?

It probably won't cost any less, but Northwestern Law School has launched a new program where law students can become lawyers in only 2 years instead of 3. Click here to read an article from the Wall Street Journal about the new program. However, students will still have to have prior work experience before entering and take the same curriculum as a 3-year student, only on an expedited basis. This accelerated program ought to keep students studying non-stop to finish in 2 years. Balanced against the likelihood that it will probably be hard to work while going to school, and student loans will come due that much sooner, students will enter the work force earlier and have the possibility of earning the 'big bucks' sooner. Interestingly, according to its Press Release,as the only law school in the country trying a 2-year JD degree, Northwestern is also going to beta test a few new classes on quantitative reasoning (i.e., money, accounting and statistics) and legal services behavior (i.e., teamwork and project management). Among other skills these classes may teach budding lawyers, they may help graduates 1) better evaluate the financial aspects of cases, 2) make more logical and realistic settlement demands and offers, 3) better communicate with clients, and 4) resolve more cases through ADR. 

Ohio Bar Results Are Out

The Ohio Supreme Court has just released the February 2008 bar exam results. Overall, the pass rate was 65.5%, but the rate for first-timers was 83%. The list of all of the successful candidates can be found at the Supreme Court's website and is searchable by last name, resident city, county, state or law school. The Court will administer the oath to all of these individuals at 2:00 p.m. on May 12th. Click here to read the Court's Press Release.

Female Enrollment in Law School is Dropping

Law.com reports that the American Bar Asssociation has studied declining enrollment in law schools to find that the percentage of women enrolling in law school has dropped since 2002. Apparently, the women's average is higher than the average overall, down significantly from its peak in 1992, when the percentage of women enrolling out-paced men at 50.4 percent. As contributing factors to the present decline, the article cites the need for "instant gratification," higher salaries for women elsewhere in business fields, and the prospect of 3 more years of studying while racking up loans.