Admission to the bar

Before the law school graduate can practice law in the full sense, s/he must obtain admission to a state bar of the state where they want to do it. As the federal nature of the American legal system would suggest, regulation of the legal profession is the concern of the states, each of which has its own requirements for admission to practice. In a few states, it is still possible - though the cases are very rare - to qualify for admission to practice on the basis of study and apprenticeship in a law office.

Thus, the licensing of lawyers is controlled by each state. Few lawyers are admitted to practice in more than one state and a lawyer may practice only where s/he is admitted. Prerequisites for licensing in the states vary, but they generally require that the applicant be of good moral character, successfully complete at least 2 years of college, graduate from law school, and then pass a state-administered bar examination. All applicants for admission are required to take a written examination which usually lasts two to three days. Bar examinations consequently usually concentrate on the law of the state to whose bar admission is sought. Accordingly, before attempting the bar examinations, graduates of national law schools typically spend two to three months studying in a bar review course to familiarize themselves thoroughly with the particularities of the relevant state's law, particularities which often were not considered in law schools. The failure rate on bar examinations differs among the states, with from 30% to 50% of those taking each examination failing in the large industrial cities to only 5% in some of the Plains states. Bar examinations are not only used to determine competence but also to control the size of the bar and thereby reduce competition. Although most of those who fail eventually pass on re-examination, some never pass and difficult examinations deter others from entering or completing law school.

Task: Study the following:

1991 Application for Admission & Scholarship

The University of Texas at Austin School of Law

To be considered a timely applicant for the August 1991 entering class, you must (1) take the Law School Admission Test no later than December 1990, (2) register with the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) no later than January 15, and (3) submit your completed application to the Law School Admissions Secretary by February 1. For information on transmittal of transcripts to the Law School Data Assembly Service, see p. 4(2a) of the Bulletin. Registration with LSDAS is necessary even if you completed an LSDAS registration in an earlier year. In completing this application, please type or print.

IMPORTANT: Give full name. Do not use initials or abbreviations unless they are part of your name.

_____________________________________ _____ ___________________

Last Name First Middle Sex Social Security #

____________________________________________ ___________________

Present address -- Street City State Zip Code Area Code / Telephone

____________________________________________ ___________________

Permanent address -- Street City State Zip Code Area Code / Telephone

____________________________

County of permanent address

Send all correspondence to permanent address after this date: _________________

Please check one box:

U.S. Citizen Permanent Resident

Non-Citizen, citizen of what country ________________________

If non-citizen or permanent resident, provide documentation which clarifies your immigration status (i.e., copy of visa you currently hold).

Race or ethnic group:

African American Mexican American

American Indian Other Hispanic

Asian American White

Other (describe) _________________________________________

This information is requested in order to facilitate reporting of ethnic information in the Office of Civil Rights Division, Department of Education. Applicants will not be denied because this item is not completed. (Race may be one factor in the admissions decision.)

Birthdate: ____________________________

Month Day Year

Check the provision under which you seek admission:

Provision 1: Applicant now has an undergraduate degree or will receive one before enrolling in law school.

Provision 2: Applicant will be within six semester hours of completing all requirements for a baccalaureate degree by the time of enrolling in law school. The Dean may declare this applicant eligible for admission upon the condition that the applicant earn the baccalaureate degree before beginning the last year of law study.

Have you ever attended UT, Austin: Yes No

If yes, when? Date of term/session: ______________________________________

Name when last registered: ____________________________________________

1. Give name and address of parent, or legal guardian if other than parent, if you are not financially independent.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Street City State Zip Code

2. Is parent or legal guardian in military service? ___________________________

If so, give duty station: _______________________________________________

3. Are you in military service? _________________________________________

If so, give Home of Record on your original entry into service: ________________

4. From what high school did you graduate? ______________________________

________________ High School

Date of Graduation _______________________________

City State

5. Give all addresses at which you have lived during the last three years, with dates._____________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Please list your degree-granting institution(s) and include the requested information.

Name of School City/State _______________

Degree Granted and Major ________________

Cumulative G.P.A. ______________

In attendance from Mo./Yr. to Mo./Yr _________________

 Check here if The University of Texas at Austin is the last school attended.

7. Have you taken the LSAT? ______ When? ____________ Score(s) __________

Do you plan to take the test again? _________ When? _____________

8. Have you previously been registered in any law school? (Yes or No) ________

If the answer is «yes», please name the institution or institutions, and set forth the reasons for not continuing your legal education there. List dates of attendance.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THIS APPLICATION IS ONLY FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE NOT PREVIOUSLY ATTENDED LAW SCHOOL. CREDIT CANNOT BE TRANSFERRED UNLESS A TRANSFER APPLICATION IS COMPLETED.

The following questions touch upon your background and personal experience. If there is any matter with respect to your education, your family, or other aspects of your background which you believe to be of special relevance to your application, please feel free to expand upon it, attaching additional sheets as may be needed.

The Admissions Committee receives applications from many more persons who are highly qualified to attend law school than there are places available. In making admissions decisions among applicants with comparable undergraduate grade point averages and LSAT scores, the Admissions Committee seeks a diverse and heterogeneous student body. The Committee considers such factors as exceptional personal talents, unique work or service experience, leadership potential, rigorousness of the undergraduate course of study as reflected by the applicant's college transcripts, graduate study, maturity, physical handicap, a history of overcoming disadvantage, ability to communicate, race, ethnic background, geography, cultural disadvantage, letters of recommendation, and other factors. Consequently, your answers to questions 9-11 may be important in the admissions decision. (Your answers to these questions must be composed by you.)

9. If your college transcripts reveal that your grades for one or more semesters were markedly different from those in the other semesters, please explain. Please make any other comments about your college transcripts or your preparation for college (such as a disadvantaged educational or economic background) that you believe will help the Admissions Committee in evaluating your application.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. If you are now a college graduate, or if you delayed your college education after high school, or if your college career was interrupted, please state your present occupation or your occupation during the relevant period (including service in the Armed Forces and the highest rank achieved). Please include job descriptions and major areas of responsibilities as well as describing periods of unemployment. _____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. Describe any significant vocational, nonvocational or extracurricular activities, other experiences, or other aspects of your background which you believe relate to the admissions criteria described above and which you feel the Admissions Committee should consider in evaluating your application. ___________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain. ____________

__________________________________________________________________

13. Have you ever been disciplined by an institution of higher learning for academic dishonesty? If so, please explain.________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Persons who have been arrested or convicted for offenses other than common traffic violations may have difficulty in gaining admission to the Bar. If you wish advice on the subject, provide the information by separate letter which will not be made part of your permanent file.

Personal interviews are not a part of the Law School's admissions process. Letters of recommendation are not required, although most applicants do submit them.

Scholarship Information The following information will be used by the Scholarships Committee to determine your eligibility for certain Law School Scholarships. The information in this area will have no effect on your admissions decision.
Marital/Children Status: Are you currently married (Yes or No)? ________ (If you are separated pending a divorce, you should answer no.) How many children do you have? _____________ Graduation: Please enter the month and year that you graduated or expect to graduate (e.g., 5/91)____________________________________	Physical Impairment: Do you have one or more of the following physical impairments? (Place an «X» next to each one applicable.) ______ Visually impaired (i.e., legally blind) ______ Hearing impaired ______ Mobility impaired