Do Law Professors Have to Take the Bar Exam? Forum

[Lord Flashheart]

It may sound like a strange question, but I've heard people talking about this and I keep getting conflicting information. Does anyone know for sure whether law professors have to be admitted to the bar? I'd imagine they don't, unless they practice first, obviously, but I can't find anything conclusive either way.

[Bildungsroman]

There are law professors who don't even have law degrees.

[JuTMSY4]

It may sound like a strange question, but I've heard people talking about this and I keep getting conflicting information. Does anyone know for sure whether law professors have to be admitted to the bar? I'd imagine they don't, unless they practice first, obviously, but I can't find anything conclusive either way.

In New Jersey, I believe there's a special waiver rule.

[Nova]

No

[SPerez]

Clinical professors would have to be licensed in the jurisdiction, I imagine.

Dean Perez

[doctoroflaw91]

There are law professors who don't even have law degrees.

This. A couple of profs at my school have PhDs or LLMs rather than JDs.

[iamgeorgebush]

No. Remember when Kathleen Sullivan failed the bar exam when leaving Stanford for private practice?

[guano]

It may sound like a strange question, but I've heard people talking about this and I keep getting conflicting information. Does anyone know for sure whether law professors have to be admitted to the bar? I'd imagine they don't, unless they practice first, obviously, but I can't find anything conclusive either way.

In New Jersey, I believe there's a special waiver rule.

wrong way around.... there's no requirement to teach, but a law professor who has not been admitted to the bar may represent someone under the special waiver rule