Cronyism blamed for half of Univ. of Texas law school grads’ inability to pass the bar

[DonViejo]

By David Ferguson
Wednesday, May 21, 2014 11:53 EDT

A mushrooming scandal at the University of Texas has exposed rampant favoritism in the admissions process of its nationally-respected School of Law.

According to Watchdog.org, Democratic and Republican elected officials stand accused of calling in favors and using their clout to obtain admission to the law school for less-than-qualified but well-connected applicants.

The prestigious program boasts a meager 59 percent of recent graduates who were able to pass the Texas bar exam. Those numbers rank UT “dead last among Texas’ nine law schools despite it being by far the most highly regarded school of the nine,” wrote Erik Telford at FoxNews.com.

“Every law school — even Harvard and Yale — turns out the occasional disappointing alum who cannot pass the bar,” said Telford. “In Texas, however, a disturbing number of these failed graduates are directly connected to the politicians who oversee the university’s source of funding.”

more
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/21/cronyism-blamed-for-half-of-univ-of-texas-law-school-grads-inability-to-pass-the-bar/

[Romulox]

1. Now extrapolate that to every boardroom and political office in America, and you get...

This, our decline.

[underpants]

2. Spot on

[Springslips]

8. You got it.

Been saying that for years.

George W sans the Bush last name is your neighborhood drunk-- and hangs out at a Home Depot looking for work-- hungover.

[Fred Sanders]

3. American corruption has reached to Third World prevalance, rotting to the core the institutions

that all of us rely on, law schools are just the small fry among them. All for love of the almighty dollar.

[former9thward]

4. As a lawyer I will say we have way too many lawyers.

At least these people who fail the bar may be able to get jobs with whomever sponsored them. At other law schools people who fail have no such luck. Yet law schools, big and small, continue to admit people who should never be admitted, simply for the cash.

[devils chaplain]

6. Kids out of college can't find decent jobs and don't know what else to do but law school. n/t

[former9thward]

10. Absolutely true.

But they are just taking on a boatload of debt and graduating into a profession in recession. A recession that will not end as it has been caused by technology.

[Romulox]

12. No, not technology, per se, but an impoverishment of their former client base.

Namely, the downwardly mobile middle class.

Of course, technology is the indirect source of that impoverishment, but I don't think people won't pay lawyers because their needs are being met on legalzoom.com; competent legal advice is just something ordinary people largely do without.

[devils chaplain]

5. And GWB was turned down from the same law school...

[exboyfil]

7. I wonder about this story

UT Law School is reporting a 92% pass rate for those taking the bar in Texas in 2012. Baylor reported that UT was second for the Nov, 2013 test at 95.5%.


Texas Tech passed 92% of its graduates in Feb, 2014 and UT is not listed in the top 4. State average was 80%. The majority of Texas alums take the Nov. test instead of the Feb. test.


The story about the pass rates is highly suspect. They cherry picked one result (which agreed could be due to cronyism). Total first time test takers for the Feb. test was 27 while in November it was 268. It seems that the more ill prepared and repeat bar takers showed up in the Feb. group.

This is an example of bad journalism.


http://www.ble.state.tx.us/pdfs/Statistics/2014Feb.pdf


http://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=story&story=135414

http://today.ttu.edu/2014/05/texas-tech-school-of-law-posts-highest-passage-rate-of-february-bar-exam/

[Tsiyu]

9. Crony's race to the bottom

They'll be the same ones to tell you if you worked harder, you'd succeed, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, life is oh-so-fair if you'll only apply yourself.

Behind closed doors? Let any lowlife underachiever in as long as we like his daddy. Too bad for the students who worked hard, applied themselves and made good grades.


More proof of what privilege bestows......and begets........unfairness for those playing fair, coddling and ultimate failure for the ones playing dirty

[Skittles]

11. this is the REAL affirmative action

[Shandris]

13. I'd be interested in seeing the numbers of how many of each type of 'affirmative...

...action' (quotes use because of comparative, not actual, titles) there actually are. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see legacy numbers higher than true AA.

But regardless, it's a practice that needs to end. You can't preach a meritocracy and then claim that the merit was earned a generation or five ago. That -is- a 'Secret Club', so to speak. And there's no room for it in the modern world.

[Paladin]

14. This is a stunning report.

UT Law has been ranked in the top 10 or 15 schools in the whole country for many years, with tough entrance requirements. "Dead last among Texas' nine law schools." Genuinely disturbing.