BestLawyerTips | News – A rule change by the state’s top court on Thursday made it possible for graduates of law schools not recognized by the American Bar Association to sit for the bar test in Indiana, but they will need to go through a separate clearance procedure.
If graduates of non-ABA law schools are qualified to take the test in another state, the Indiana Supreme Court has modified and opened a new tab its attorney admissions regulations to allow them to obtain a waiver of the requirement to take the licensing exam. Since California currently permits both kinds of graduates to take its bar test, graduates of completely online law schools and graduates of law schools with California accreditation may seek to take the Indiana bar.
California stands different from the rest of the states since only graduates of law schools approved by the ABA are eligible to take the bar test. However, the ABA is thinking about changing its existing stance of not accrediting online law schools.
The new regulation goes into effect on July 1st, and non-ABA grads can petition to take the bar in February 2025.
According to Martin Pritikin, dean of the entirely online Purdue Global Law School, which first asked for the Indiana regulation change in 2022, the change will aid in addressing the state’s lack of rural attorneys.
Among other requirements, prospective bar examinees must submit a narrative statement outlining their legal education and the reasons a waiver is necessary in order to be granted.
Sources: Reuters