BAR requirements Forum

[bostonbred]

does each state BAR require your law school application? what's the protocol on this?

[A. Nony Mouse]

I think it just requires you to fill out a form and pay dues. If you go to their website it will tell you.

(Unless you're talking about applying for the bar, which is done by state, not the ABA.)

[bostonbred]

I think it just requires you to fill out a form and pay dues. If you go to their website it will tell you.

(Unless you're talking about applying for the bar, which is done by state, not the ABA.)

makes sense, though, I thought they would want your law school application

[BVest]

Bar examiners do require your law school application (though not your letters of rec). If you transferred, they require your applications from both schools. And it does not matter if you're previously barred in another state if you apply later in life to take the bar in another state, e.g. California. They'll still want a copy of your application (especially if you had any pre-LS C&F issues as they want to make sure you disclosed them to the school).

[bostonbred]

Bar examiners do require your law school application (though not your letters of rec). If you transferred, they require your applications from both schools. And it does not matter if you're previously barred in another state if you apply later in life to take the bar in another state, e.g. California. They'll still want a copy of your application (especially if you had any pre-LS C&F issues as they want to make sure you disclosed them to the school).

makes sense

[bostonbred]

so it is just the school you attended, or do you need others you applied to? Do we use the copy from LSAC?

[BVest]

The one(s) you attended. And a copy of the LSAC version of it is generally sufficient, but there could be some states with special requirements.

[A. Nony Mouse]

My state requests the application directly from the school.

[jdmonkey]

I would think that the Bar would not consider applications from schools you did not attend for 2 reasons. 1) The continuing duty to disclose. If there was an incident that came up between applying to law school and graduating it would not be reflected in applications for law schools that you did not attend, as there is no duty or even a practical way to keep that information up to date. 2) Amending your application. There are a significant amount of people in law school that amend their applications for admission. For instance during orientation some law schools explain what will be asked of you for the C&F requirement of the bar. The C&F question for the bar is usually broader than the C&F question asked by the law school for admission. Some law schools encourage people to amend their applications even if an incident was not specifically asked about, so the law school application exactly matches your answer on your bar application. Also people tend to amend their applications after taking legal ethics, since you learn that even if there is a 99.9% chance that an incident is unresponsive to a law school application, full disclosure is something that C&F weighs extremely favorably, so there are people that want to make sure they get full credit for disclosure. So an amendment to your application would not be reflected on your other law school apps.

[RedGiant]

Bar examiners do require your law school application (though not your letters of rec). If you transferred, they require your applications from both schools. And it does not matter if you're previously barred in another state if you apply later in life to take the bar in another state, e.g. California. They'll still want a copy of your application (especially if you had any pre-LS C&F issues as they want to make sure you disclosed them to the school).

The states I just applied to didn't seem to want me to send a copy of my app. Whether they got it from my school, maybe...but I didn't have any C&F issues, so it didn't matter for me.

[bostonbred]

I would not think that the Bar would not consider applications from schools you did not attend for 2 reasons. 1) The continuing duty to disclose. If there was an incident that came up between applying to law school and graduating it would not be reflected in applications for law schools that you did not attend, as there is no duty or even a practical way to keep that information up to date. 2) Amending your application. There are a significant amount of people in law school that amend their applications for admission. For instance during orientation some law schools explain what will be asked of you for the C&F requirement of the bar. The C&F question for the bar is usually broader than the C&F question asked by the law school for admission. Some law schools encourage people to amend their applications even if an incident was not specifically asked about, so the law school application exactly matches your answer on your bar application. Also people tend to amend their applications after taking legal ethics, since you learn that even if there is a 99.9% chance that an incident is unresponsive to a law school application, full disclosure is something that C&F weighs extremely favorably, so there are people that want to make sure they get full credit for disclosure. So an amendment to your application would not be reflected on your other law school apps.

I think you meant "I would think the Bar would not consider..."? based on your reasons

[jdmonkey]

I would not think that the Bar would not consider applications from schools you did not attend for 2 reasons. 1) The continuing duty to disclose. If there was an incident that came up between applying to law school and graduating it would not be reflected in applications for law schools that you did not attend, as there is no duty or even a practical way to keep that information up to date. 2) Amending your application. There are a significant amount of people in law school that amend their applications for admission. For instance during orientation some law schools explain what will be asked of you for the C&F requirement of the bar. The C&F question for the bar is usually broader than the C&F question asked by the law school for admission. Some law schools encourage people to amend their applications even if an incident was not specifically asked about, so the law school application exactly matches your answer on your bar application. Also people tend to amend their applications after taking legal ethics, since you learn that even if there is a 99.9% chance that an incident is unresponsive to a law school application, full disclosure is something that C&F weighs extremely favorably, so there are people that want to make sure they get full credit for disclosure. So an amendment to your application would not be reflected on your other law school apps.

I think you meant "I would think the Bar would not consider..."? based on your reasons

yes. That was a typo.