Law Schools

Purdue University's Law School Is Pushing Useful Model For Improving Access To Justice

There's no real reason not to.

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The laptop to attorney pipeline is developing

Law school was long thought to be one of those experiences you had to be there for to reap the benefits of. That was until COVID. Once that happened, even the likes of Yale became Zoom School of Law. And while things have largely returned to normal — and by that I mean people appeared to just stop caring about the consequences of contracting the virus, lung capacity be damned — the realization that the whole law school thing could be done online continues to spill over into changing what we consider the necessary parts of becoming a lawyer. So much, in fact, that it makes you wonder, why can’t graduates from online law schools sit for Indiana’s state attorney licensing exam?

Indiana could become the second state to allow graduates of online law schools to take the bar exam.

Concord Law School at Purdue University Global, which became the first online law school in the United States when it launched in 1998, is seeking a rule change from the Indiana Supreme Court that would enable its graduates to sit for the state’s attorney licensing exam. The court is now seeking public comments on the proposal.

This bit of convenience wouldn’t be that much of a change — California already has similar rules in play — but it would be a gamechanger. Indiana is currently dealing with a lawyer shortage and any means of lowering barriers to entry without sacrificing quality would be greatly appreciated.

Purdue law dean Martin Pritikin said allowing its law graduates to take the bar in Indiana will help improve access to justice in the state by making a legal education more accessible to people living in its rural and underserved areas.

“For people who live in the farther corners of the state, they don’t have to move or commute to the law school,” he said. “They can stay where they are and serve their communities.”

Is there a way to balance affordability and access with vetting to make sure that the lawyer you get can actually do their job? Until ChatGPT is licensed to practice, this could be the next best thing.

Online Law School Seeks Bar Exam Eligibility In Indiana [Reuters]

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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