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Bar Exam

ABA law school accreditation not necessarily needed to take Indiana bar exam, top state court decides

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 21, 2024, 9:10 am CST

The Indiana Supreme Court has broadened the pool of would-be lawyers eligible to take the bar exam.

In an order filed Feb. 15, the state supreme court changed its attorney admission rule to allow graduates of non-ABA-accredited law schools to request a waiver to take the exam, report Reuters and Law.com.

The Indiana Board of Law Examiners can grant the waiver if the applicant was eligible at graduation to take the exam in another state. The provision allows applicants to seek waivers if they graduate from a fully online law school or a California-accredited law school because California allows those graduates to take the exam, Reuters explains.

The change takes effect July 1, enabling applicants for the February 2025 bar exam to request a waiver.

The Purdue Global Law School, which is fully online, had requested the change. The law school’s dean, Martin Pritikin, said in a Feb. 16 press release the rule can help address the lawyer shortage in Indiana, which is particularly acute in rural areas.

See also:

“Legal Ed council calls for comments regarding fully online law schools”