FEATURES
Challenging the Bar Exam on Hidden Disabilities
BY JANE EASTER BAHLS
Law school grads with cognitive or learning disorders and other hidden disabilities such as rheumatoid arthritis, which can limit a person's ability to sit for lengths of time or to write longhand, are increasingly requesting bar examiners to allow accommodations for their conditions. Since there are no nationwide guidelines for such conditions, applicants are finding that some bar examiners are not as accommodating of their disabilities as their law schools were. Others have entered into lengthy-and costly-hearing processes, having been told to supply medical and psychological substantiation that many believe is none of bar examiners' business. The examiners, on the other hand, sometimes feel pressure to make decisions for which they have not been trained, or in which "fairness" is not a black-and-white rule.
State-by-State Guide to the Bar Exam
Here's the lowdown on what you need to know-dates, deadlines, rules and testing formats for all national examinations.
Pulled Funding Increases Public Service Competition
BY DI MARI RICKER
Public service jobs are sometimes considered the ugly stepchild of law practice, relegated to images of overcrowded offices, underpaid staff and bitter, cold coffee. For the last few years, however, as federal and local funding cuts have eroded the numbers of available positions, the competition for jobs in the public sector has increased, to the point where some believe it is every bit as fierce as are bids for private employment. Several lawyers discuss this field of both low and high reward.
DEPARTMENTS
Officially Speaking
BY VIRGINIA V. TROST
Bar associations: "What have they done for me lately?"
Briefly
BY HEATHER E. MACDONALD
Women and minorities make small but significant gains in the legal profession
Coping
BY JONATHAN GREENE
Take a deep breath and relax…tips to pass the bar exam
Legal-ease
BY DI MARI RICKER
Whether it's future law or just pontificating, dicta makes for good reading
Jobs
BY DONNA GERSON
How to open doors in the nontraditional legal job market
Online
BY RICHARD P. KLAU
Recording industry sings the blues as consumers create their own music
DIVISION DIALOGUE
Interested in Leadership and Travel?
BY LEE FARBMAN
Then become an LSD national student director
Gain Political Experience
BY LEE FARBMAN
As a division delegate, you can contribute to important ABA policy decisions
Spotlight
Award Deadlines! Award Deadlines!Get Your Nominations In!
