Representation of minorities in the legal profession is significantly lower that in other jobs. Only 9.4% of all people were minorities. In 2008, more minorities were called upon to enter the legal profession. Most notably, an LSAT preparation service began. A decade later, minority representatives remain at the forefront. If a minority candidate can make it past the LSAT, the road to the future for them is considerably brighter. If you would like to pursue a law degree in Nebraska while also mentoring bright young students, read on.
Get Your Pre-Law Degree
An education in a pre-law field of study is required by the Nebraska State Bar Commission and the American Bar Association (ABA). If the agency that accredits your four-year college or institution appears on the list of the U.S. Department of Education database, it’s highly likely that your four-year degree will be accepted for a bachelor’s degree. Even when you are an undergraduate, none of the ABA accredited law school mandate a certain degree. Of course, some courses are better than others. That’s why classes like English, political science, science, literature are sought by law schools. As per your major though, it doesn’t really matter. You can major in elementary education electronic communications. Virtually any major will suit a law school, so long as your grade point average is sufficient. The more that you enjoy your subject area, the higher your grade point average is going to be. Law schools look favorably on high grade point averages.
The LSAT
LSAT stands for the Law School Admission Test. If you get past this hurdle, you’re just about assured admission at one of more than 200 ABA accredited law schools in the United States. One key to taking the LSAT is taking a preparation test. It doesn’t teach you what’s on the test, but it teaches you how to take the test. You need to learn that as the LSAT has nothing to do with the law. It’s a valid predictor of how well you’re going to do in law school though, so take that prep class. The LSAT takes about 3,5 hours to complete. There are five main sections to it. Those consist of the following:
- Logical Reasoning.
- Analytical Reasoning.
- Reading Comprehension.
- An Experimental Section.
- An Essay Question.
You won’t be told what section the experimental section is in, so its important to call your attention to the entire test. The essay question will only be sent to the law school that you apply to, but its obviously important for you to pay attention to this too.
The LSAT Application Process
The LSAT application process is easy. First, you need to register with the Law School Admission Council. The test is given three time a year in November, January and March. The cost is $215, and it’s given at about five places throughout Nebraska. Results are in above three weeks. An absolute low score is 120 and a high score is 180. There are two ABA accredited law schools in Nebraska. Those are the University of Nebraska and Creighton University. The median score at University of Nebraska was 156 and for Creighton University, it was 152. Learn more about LSAT here.
The Credential Assembly Service
Using the Credential Assembly Service to apply to a law school is required. Its purpose is to apply for you to the law schools that you wish to apply to. It gathers your transcripts, letters of recommendation and LSAT scores and forwards them to the various admissions offices. Cost of the CAS is $215 plus $45 for every law school that you apply to.
Law School
You’ll want to attend an ABA accredited law school. There shouldn’t be any problems with that as there are more than 200 of them scattered across the country. The ABA law school curriculum consists of three years of prerequisite and elective courses to earn your Juris Doctor degree. As internship will most likely be required, and its graded too. Try to do your best on that.
Taking the Nebraska Bar Exam
Before you can even sit for the bar exam, you must take and pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam with a score of 85 or higher. This must be taken within 18 months of the actual bar exam. It must be taken by November 1, if you take the February exam and by April 1, if you plan on taking the July, exam. Then, you’re again encouraged to take another preparation class for the Nebraska bar exam. Just ask around which is the most popular and take that preparation class. It will prove invaluable. Nebraska administers the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE). The exam will take two days. Day one will consist of six Multistate Essay Exam (MEE)) questions. You might encounter the following, but it’s certainly not an exclusive list:
- Commercial paper.
- Family law.
- Federal civil procedure.
- Wills and trusts
Then you’ll take the Multistate Performance Test which will test your ability to analyze for principles, apply law to the facts, identify and overcome ethical issues, express yourself in writing and complete a lawyering task within a restricted time. On the second day, you will take the Multistate Performance Exam. (MPE) consisting of 100 questions in the morning and another 100 in the afternoon.
The Application Process for the Exam
Application fees are to be paid through the Nebraska Supreme Court Attorney Services Division. A bar examination for of $515 is due. Applicants without a passing MPRE score will pay $615. Check the dates when you must file by, and be sure to comply with all requests for documents and the like. In 2020, the pass rate was 80% for first-time takers.
You can look for your results of the exam about six weeks after. You will be notified of time and location of your swearing in ceremony. You must be sworn in within 18 months of the time that the Supreme Court advises you of passing. After passing, its congratulations, you’re a lawyer now! See? Even a minority kid from the other side of town can do it. All that it takes is hard work.
