The ABA's conditional acceptance programs can allow persons with issues to achieve their legal career goal.
Conditional admission to law school can be very helpful for individuals committed to joining the practice of law who may not otherwise be ideal candidates. In the past, persons with drug and alcohol issues, criminal histories or mental problems would have been barred from the practice; however, in 2008 the American Bar Association passed a model rule allowing conditional admission to law schools. Additionally, traditional conditional acceptance programs allowed students with lower scores to prove themselves during their first year at law school.
The New ABA Model Rule
The rule passed by the ABA in February of 2008, called Resolution 112, allows persons who previously would have been deemed unfit to practice law to join the practice upon a showing of completion of a rehabilitation program for drug or alcohol abuse or treatment program for mental illness. This validated several states' practice that had done the same before the new rule. However, keep in mind that the Commentary on Resolution 112, an addendum that adds more information and clarifies the rather succinct rule, allows individual state bar organizations to determine whether the public need be notified of the new rule. This means that states may decide that their constituency should be informed of the drug, alcohol or mental issues that conditionally admitted attorneys have had in the past, essentially making your private history public knowledge. If this is not something you think you can handle, you may want to choose a state that does not disclose this information.
Schools with Conditional Acceptance Programs
While the ABA guidelines permitting conditional acceptance changed in 2008, many schools' attitudes towards accepting these types of students are slow to follow suit, but as time progresses more will likely develop conditional admission programs. The following are some of the more well-known schools of the 22 that offered conditional admission programs in 2010: Florida A & M University College of Law, Loyola University New Orleans School of Law, Michigan State University College of Law, Saint John's University School of Law and Widener University School of Law. Several of the remaining schools are unaccredited, which may not help you if the state in which you wish to practice does not allow graduates of unaccredited schools to sit for the bar.
Traditional Conditional Acceptance Programs
In the past, conditional acceptance referred to schools accepting students with lower undergraduate GPAs and LSAT scores than they normally would on the condition that they prove themselves through excellent work their first year. Many schools are phasing these programs out, however, in favor of increasing their GPA and LSAT averages, and students with lower scores are generally ending up at lower-ranked law schools. However, some schools do still offer this type of conditional acceptance program, so if this is the issue you are facing, it may be in your best interest to move quickly and apply to your desired school.
Assistance for the Troubled
The ABA's Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs can provide you with many leads if you would like to pursue conditional admission to law school. Its goal is to "educate the legal profession about alcoholism, chemical dependencies, stress, depression and other emotional health issues, and assist and support all bar associations and lawyer-assistance programs in developing and maintaining methods of providing effective solutions for recovery," according to the commission's website.
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