Cleveland Law Library Weblog

Ohio Supreme Court Will Soon Swear in 250 More Lawyers

The Ohio Supreme Court will soon be swearing in 250 lawyers. According to the Court's press release about the results of the Feb. 2012 bar exam in Columbus:

"Out of 397 applicants, 250 applicants (63 percent) received passing scores; out of 224 first-time applicants, 79 percent received passing scores. This year’s February bar exam results for all test-takers compare favorably to previous years, which saw 69.77 percent receiving passing scores in 2011, 65.6 percent in 2010, 61.2 percent in 2009, 65.5 percent in 2008 and 63 percent in 2007."

The Court has also posted the list of all the successful candidates' names.

Lawschooltransparency.com Provides Key Financial and Job Placement Information for Potential Law Students

Lawschooltransparency.com has launched a new database that provides key financial and job placement information for potential law students. I compared the numbers for Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland-Marshall to see how local grads are doing. Case currently costs $42,564 compared to CM at $27,204. Barring scholarships and grants, Case 2015 grads face $228,904 in debt, compared to $157,010 for CM grads. Interestingly, however, their employment statistics are pretty close at 64.6% for Case and 62.9% for CM. However, the website reports more under-employed lawyers (i.e., unemployed, part-time or in non-professional jobs) at Case (31.8%) than at CM (22.5%). The final statistic I compared was location of employment, and 53.6% of Case grads stay in Ohio, compared to 96% of CM grads.

Click here for a good article about this new database from law.com.

Latest Stats Show Law Grads with Mounting Debt and Few Job Prospects

An article in today's Columbus Dispatch really paints a bleak picture for Ohio law school graduates. Except for their debt (which is up), every conceivable statistic is down, including the number of paid summer internships, starting salaries, and employment rates for new lawyers. Students who might have otherwise decided to go to law school may be taking these hints to heart because over 20,000 fewer individuals took the LSAT. The article includes an ongoing debate over whether the U.S. has too many lawyers compared to an insufficient number of doctors. Interesting reading!

New Study Reveals Employment Figures for 2010 Law Grads

In a very detailed article, complete with supporting data and statistics, Capital University Law School Adjunct Professor Jason M. Dolin, paints a bleak picture of how 2010 law graduates are faring in the workplace. Compared to higher statistics he reported for 2009, Mr. Dolin states that only 40.3 to 67 % of law grads obtained full-time work that required a JD degree, although the stats are higher if you include part-time work. Mr. Dolin also provides detailed information for all of Ohio's law schools and the percentages of graduates employed in private, small, solo, mega practices. Interestingly, he reports that the national average law school debt is $68,827.36, while Ohio grads finish law school with an average debt ranging from a low of $58,455.00 to a high of $81,408.00. The article is definitely worth a read.

277 Applicants Pass the Ohio Bar Exam

277 lucky candidates passed the most recent Ohio Bar Exam from February. The pass rate for 1st timers was almost 86%, and the rate for all takers was up to almost 70%. All of the new lawyers will be sworn in on May 9, 2011 at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus, Ohio. Click here to read the Ohio Supreme Court's press release, and click here to review the list of successful candidates.

Cleveland-Marshall Law School to Open High-Tech Trial Courtroom

Having raised almost all of the funds it had hoped, Cleveland-Marshall is opening a brand new, $1 million dollar trial courtroom with high-tech like that used in the local federal district courthouse. CSU plans to use the room to educate students about the trial process and rent the room to lawyers and jury consulting firms who want to conduct mock trials and/or practice witness testimony. Apparently, naming rights are still available for the room itself and several components of the room, including the judge's chambers and the jury deliberation room. Interestingly, this room is unique among Ohio law schools and rare across the country, but Jones Day's Cleveland office has a trial courtroom of its own that it uses for practicing for oral arguments, among other things.

Fewer Students Are Entering Law School Due in Large Part to Debt Fears and Fewer Job Prospects

A WSJ article reports that applications to US law schools are down 11.5% compared to last year. The reason appears to be that students are fearing high law school tuition debts (about $100,000 according to the ABA) and the prospect of a tight job market that offers a lot fewer job opportunities. The article indicates that the statistics are the lowest in 10 years-since 2001. Apparently, corporate law firms have cut back, and many law firms are freezing starting salaries for new lawyers. The article concludes that law school no longer appears to be for the undecided who are not sure what career to pursue.

Almost 400 Potential New Lawyers Took the Ohio Bar Exam This Week

According to the Ohio Supreme Court, almost 400 potential new lawyers took the grueling Ohio Bar Exam this week, which is still being held in the Vets Memorial Hall in Columbus. The candidates will have to wait until April 29th to find out if they passed, and the swearing in is scheduled for May 9th in Columbus during a special session of the Ohio Supreme Court to be held at the Ohio Theatre.

Future Law Students May Not Have to Take the LSAT

What a relief it would be for future law students if they do not have to take the LSAT? Such a proposal is in the works as part of proposed changes to ABA law school accreditation standards. According to law.com, the chairman of the ABA's committee has indicated that the committee is leaning toward eliminating the test requirement, regarding which 10 law schools have apparently already been excused from 100% compliance. Click here to read the full article, which contains opinions pro and con, as well as more issues that the committee is re-considering, such as the current requirement that law students take at least one externship, clinci or simulation. Click here to read a summary of the proposed changes from the abajournal online.

Ohio Supreme Court Denies License to Law Student with Too Much Debt

The Ohio Supreme Court has just denied a law license to an Ohio law student who owes $170,000 in debt. According to ABCnews, the Court's Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness thought he owed too much money without a "feasible plan to satisfy his financial obligations." Hard to believe, but the student has worked on getting his finances in better shape and plans to re-apply for the February 2011 bar exam.