Wisconsin is the last state in the nation to uphold the “diploma privilege” for law students, something that may be helping or hurting students, depending on where they attend school.
The policy allows students who graduate from the University of Wisconsin, as well as Marquette University, to be exempted from taking the bar exam. Instead, after meeting certain requirements, the students are able to go right to working at a number of law firms.
“In order to qualify for the diploma privilege, [students] have to maintain a specific average in a list of courses,” said Kenneth Davis, dean of UW Law School.
Currently, there is a class-action lawsuit in the district court filed by graduates of the Oklahoma City University School of Law, contesting the legality of the diploma privilege.
The case was heard by the United States Court of Appeals and sent back to the district court based on premature dismissal.
“First of all, I expect the court to uphold the diploma privilege,” said Walter Dickey, associate dean of academic affairs at UW. “I would be surprised if they threw it out; [the courts] are likely to support the states control of who gets exempt from the bar.”
According to the U.S. constitution’s commerce clause, UW cannot favor the graduates from UW and Marquette over out-of-state graduates.
“I would be in favor of keeping it in place. I think it is at least an adequate way [of determining preparedness] just like the bar, [because students] must meet rigorous requirements,” said Kevin Kelly, the assistant dean for curricular affairs at UW.
Some, however, view the bar exam as a “right of passage” and feel it is necessary for graduates to pass the exam in order to determine if they are ready for law work, as many Wisconsin students do not take the bar exam.
“Less than 1 percent of students who graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School take the bar exam here,” Dickey said.
Lawyers and graduated students who have not taken the bar exam will not be affected by the case if it results in the elimination of the diploma privilege.
“Look to the marketplace: Milwaukee hires from Yale and Harvard, and they don’t have any problems. They can say [the bar exam] is required, but I have never heard that they are more confident [with students] taking the bar exam,” Davis said.
As far as graduates from either Wisconsin institution having an advantage over law students from other states, one point Kelly believes to be different is the heavy focus on Wisconsin state law in the courses.
“When state law comes up, Wisconsin will be focused on in (the curriculum) the majority of the time,” Kelly said.
Regardless of whether they take the bar exam or not, those who graduate from the UW are very well-prepared for their careers, according university officials.
“Our students do very well upon graduation regardless of if they take the bar exam or not. They do very well after school, both on the bar exam and out in the real world,” UW’s Dean of Admissions Michael Hall said.
