Law Commons^™

Dean's Perspective: The Bar Exam: It's Time For Indiana To Adopt A Uniform Bar Exam, Austen L. Parrish

Articles by Maurer Faculty

For most of us, the Bar Exam conjures up memories of grueling prep courses, intensive studying, and a couple of long days of exhaustive tests. In a way, the exam is the final rite of passage from law student to law practitioner. The exam is intended to test minimal professional competency, evaluating an applicant's legal reasoning and ability to apply general legal principles to various fact patterns.

Recently, bar exams throughout the United States have come under scrutiny. Nationwide pass rates have declined significantly. The same has been true for Indiana. Even though pass rates for first-time takers at the …

Mindsets In Legal Education, Victor D. Quintanilla, Sam Erman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

If you teach 1Ls, you may share the following concern. At the start of each year, we meet enthusiastic and successful students who are passionate about law. They arrive on campus invested in learning, ready to work hard, and eager to participate in class. But trouble brews soon thereafter. Students worry whether they have what it takes to do well, whether they will fit in, and whether they belong in law school. Answering questions in class, many sense (rightly or wrongly) that their professors and peers think that they aren’t smart and that they will not do well. When they …