Applying to Law School with an A Misdemeanor

[cooleylawstudent]

The name of the school dosn't mean jack for the bar, you either meet the standard of you don't. Its not applying for a firm, its the bar. If one one JD works they all work, if one dosnt then none do, period.

[vercingetorix]

The name of the school dosn't mean jack for the bar, you either meet the standard of you don't. Its not applying for a firm, its the bar. If one one JD works they all work, if one dosnt then none do, period.

To the poster. Don't take my word for it, look around and see the flames/poor advice Thelo offers on threads. Having said that, he is correct that the bar doesn't really care what school you graduate from so long as it is ABA accredited. If you graduate from Cooley, you should be able to gain admission to any bar that a graduate of say UVA. My point was two-fold. 1. not all bars have the same standards (although as Nealric points out, crimes of moral turpitude are more difficult to overcome than crimes that aren't like, say, disorderly conduct) and 2. (and this is where, as he often does, Thelo misses the point) getting into the bar is only part of the equation. It does you little good to get into the bar if you have no chance of finding legal work. This is where a more portable degree, like one from Northwestern, absolutely matters. Your chances of getting a job anywhere in the country are much higher than a graduate from Cooley. That is a verifiable fact. If you follow the logic on step further, this means that you can and should try to get into schools that will maximize your chances everywhere in the country so that you can target those states that are more open to admitting someone with a fraud conviction.

[cooleylawstudent]

No chance of finding work? What is that idiot talk? He has a misdomenor not a felony, and evenif he did, so what? I promise that one of the 50 states will license him and once thats done finding work for him will be EASIER than the rest of us. Especially if it involves crimlaw or torts/contracts involving fraud. Clients will be like "oh snap you one of us too dog...."

[bigs5068]

I really don't think the ranking of your school would make any difference whatsoever in regards to your character for admission to the bar. Fraud is a bad one to have if you are trying to get into the law and whether you go to Harvard or Cooley it will be a big issue for any state bar. The answer to OP's question is definitely ask a state bar what their opinion is and I am sure some are a lot more lenient than others.  I would think a state like South Dakota is in need of lawyers and would be more lenient than New York or Massachusetts where there are a million lawyers without fraud convictions. The reality is nobody on this board really knows the answer unless they work for a state bar. 

[Freak]

I'm an attorney in Illinois and I can tell you that fraud will probably result in the bar turning you down in Illinois. If it's more than 10 years old, then you have a chance. If not, you'll have to beg and plead for the bar to even think about accepting you.

[cooleylawstudent]

which states would you say are the most likely to take it? As for ten years, most of that would be spent in training if he went for the full LLM.

I'm an attorney in Illinois and I can tell you that fraud will probably result in the bar turning you down in Illinois. If it's more than 10 years old, then you have a chance. If not, you'll have to beg and plead for the bar to even think about accepting you.

[nealric]

DC seems rather notorious for being lenient with C&F in bar admissions. The school assembly on the bar exam mentioned that DC has let in convicted murderers before. It's all about disclosure and showing reform.

That said, the OP really should be talking with the state bar in the state he is thinking about practicing before applying to law school.

[cooleylawstudent]

or all of them. Most will just say " we dont make predeterminations"  unless its on their list of automatic no-no's.(some dont have one)
The people on this board seem not to understand that.

DC seems rather notorious for being lenient with C&F in bar admissions. The school assembly on the bar exam mentioned that DC has let in convicted murderers before. It's all about disclosure and showing reform.

That said, the OP really should be talking with the state bar in the state he is thinking about practicing before applying to law school.

[fosterp]

I don't mean to hijack the thread here but I have a similar question...I am thinking about applying for law school next year and I too got into some trouble when I was 17, hanging out with the wrong crowd of kids, etc. Got arrested for theft/psp second degree/false statement, just did some community service and had a deferred judgement. I am 25 now and obviously grown up since then however it seems these things will need to be disclosed at some point. Not sure how my history compares to fraud, and by the time I finish law school it will probably be 11 or 12 years in the past - should I be worried about this?

[cooleylawstudent]

worried no, but mention it on the applications. Schools dont do background checks but the bar will and if the bar sees it not on your application they will get very upset. If 17 is it "set aside"? If not apply to have it done so. Still put it on the application but then you can also say it was removed. That will help.

I don't mean to hijack the thread here but I have a similar question...I am thinking about applying for law school next year and I too got into some trouble when I was 17, hanging out with the wrong crowd of kids, etc. Got arrested for theft/psp second degree/false statement, just did some community service and had a deferred judgement. I am 25 now and obviously grown up since then however it seems these things will need to be disclosed at some point. Not sure how my history compares to fraud, and by the time I finish law school it will probably be 11 or 12 years in the past - should I be worried about this?