Cleveland Law Library Weblog

Move Over Bluebook-There's an Indigo Book in Town

Every lawyer knows about The Bluebook, the gold standard in citation formats from the Harvard and Columbia Law Reviews. However, an NYU professor and a group of law students created a new citation manual called The Indigo Book. According to a recent Press Release, The Indigo Book was released in beta version in 2016, and it is free and "open" with "No Rights Reserved." Compared to The Bluebook, "The Indigo Book was created with a more flexible, arguably practical, citation system in mind." Check it out for yourself..

Harvard Law School is Now Accepting Law School Applications from High School Juniors

According to JDJournal online, Harvard Law School has just instituted a program to allow high school juniors to apply for Law School early. Harvard Law Dean Martha Minow explained that:

"The one condition upon acceptance is that they must successfully finish their undergraduate degree and then continue on with at least two years of work, study, or the pursuit of research or fellowship opportunities before starting law school. The intention of the program is to encourage students to obtain work experience before law school as well as motivate students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fields to bring their skills to the legal field."

This program is an extension of a program Harvard apparently started 2-3 years ago to allow Harvard College juniors to apply to Harvard Law School early. 

UnitedLex Creates a "Legal Residency" for Lawyers Like a Residency for a Doctor

A company called UnitedLex has reinvented the job market for new lawyers with the creation of a brand new employment concept called a "legal residency." Although UnitedLex is not itself a practicing law firm, in collaboration with law schools at Vanderbilt, Ohio State, Emory, and the University of Miami, UnitedLex provides the following opportunities for new graduates:

"Graduates work with UnitedLex as a resident for up to two years (not foreclosing the possibility of longer-term employment), compiling genuine hands-on experience. It’s not uncommon for a resident to manage their own team of reviewers and interface directly with the client and its outside counsel to develop strategy. Additionally, about 10 percent of the residency is devoted to training programs that UnitedLex and the schools developed to keep the grads learning the practical skills needed for a developing practice." Quoted from Above the Law.

About 100 graduates have already accepted jobs with United Lex at salaries between $55,000-$70,000 per year. The law schools also receive 50% of the profits that UnitedLex generates from the law schools' alumni contacts.

 

The Nation's 1st Online Hybrid Law Degree is Underway in St. Paul, Minnesota

The William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota is the 1st law school in the country to offer an online hybrid law degree. It is also the country's first hybrid online and in-person program approved by the American Bar Association. According to CNBC, 85 students from 31 states and two countries began taking classes in January, and "[e]very class is half online and half in person." What this means is that "William Mitchell still must perform half its instruction in person, which it will accomplish with one jam-packed week each semester, plus two more at the start of the first and second years." Tuition is still pricey at $27,770 per year. A local Minnesota newspaper reports that "Eighty percent of the program's students live outside of Minnesota, in 29 other states and Canada. They include five medical doctors and range in age from 22 to 67."

2 Law Schools Plan to Admit 10% of Their Law Students without the LSAT Tests

Bloomberg reports that the Law Schools at SUNY Buffalo and the University of Iowa are soon going to accept students who have not taken the LSAT. This move is based on recent changes to ABA accreditation standards that allow Law Schools to admit up to 10% of their students without requiring them to take the LSAT. The provisos for the students in this 10% are that they were at the top of their college class and scored highly on the the SAT and ACT or on the GRE or GMAT graduate school exams. Standard 503 of the ABA Guidelines states in part that:

"(a) It is not a violation of this Standard for a law school to admit no more than 10% of an entering class without requiring the LSAT from: (1) Students in an undergraduate program of the same institution as the J.D. program; and/or (2) Students seeking the J.D. degree in combination with a degree in a different discipline."

The full text of the ABA standards can be found at this link.

Ohio Bar Exam Moving to Columbus Convention Center for July Exam

Many of you may remember taking the Bar Exam in Columbus at Veterans Memorial building. However, Vet's, which has served as exam HQ for over 50 years, is going to be demolished. As a result, the Ohio Supreme Court is moving the Bar Exam to the Columbus Convention Center starting with this month's July exam. Click here to listen to an interview containing more information on the history of Vet's and the exam.

 

 

Ohio's Law Schools Can Now Create and Offer 3+3 Programs Combining College and Law School in Only 6 Years

According to a news release, the Ohio Supreme Court has just amended Rule I of its Rules for the Government of the Bar to allow Ohio law schools, colleges and universities to create 3+3 programs that combine college and law school into six-year joint bachelor’s/law degree program. Although no schools in Ohio currently offer this option, students who graduate from 3+3 programs elsewhere have been able to seek a waiver of the customary Ohio requirement to complete 7 years of school through 4 years of college and 3 years of law school. The amendments to the Rule go into effect in just a few weeks on July 1st so there may be major changes on the horizon for this Fall.

Only 283 of 440 Applicants Pass Ohio's February Bar Exam

According to a post from Court News Ohio, only 283 (or 64.3%) of the 440 candidates who took the February Bar Exam passed. This percetage has varied in the 60's over the last few years, but the percentage of successful first-timers was a higher, at 79%. The oath of office for new attorneys will be administered on Cinco de Mayo at 2:00 p.m. at The Ohio Theatre in Columbus, Ohio. 

Ohio Supreme Court Accepting Comments on Whether 6-Year Students Can Take The Bar Exam

The Ohio Supreme Court is accepting public comments until January 22nd on whether students in Accelerated Joint Bachelor's/Law Degree Programs can take the Ohio Bar Exam. Ohio's Law School Deans have asked the Supreme Court to allow these 3+3 programs, instead of the traditional 4+3 college plus law school track. According to the Court's News Release, "Under the amendments to Rule I of the Supreme Court Rules for the Government of the Bar of Ohio, applicants for admission to the practice of law in Ohio would only be required to obtain a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university before admission to the practice of law rather than before admission to law school. As it stands now, bar exam applicants who graduate from a “3+3” program must seek a waiver of the rule in order to sit for the exam, according to Lee Ann Ward, director of the Office of Bar Admissions at the Supreme Court."

Suffolk Law School Has Created a Concentration in Legal Technology and Innovation

Among its family of concentrations in law, Suffolk Law School has created a brand new concentration for law students who want to focus their education on Legal Technology and Innovation. The Law School promotes it as similar to a college major, with offerings in "automated document assembly, legal project management (LPM), knowledge management and virtual lawyering." The program is rigorous and requires all students to perform 3-credit hour internship at a company or law firm that "employs innovative approaches in the delivery of legal and law-related services." For more information about the new program, read Suffolk's news release.