Ohio Supreme Court considering Accelerated Joint Bachelor’s/Law Degree “3+3” Program Rule Changes

 A post by the Ohio Supreme Court’s news service, Court News Ohio, earlier this week announced the Court’s proposed amendment to Rule I of the Supreme Court Rules for the Government of the Bar of Ohio, which would allow applicants to apply for the bar exam after graduating from a six-year joint bachelor’s/law degree “3+3” program instead of the traditional seven-year program (four years of undergraduate study, and then three years of law school). Lee Ann Ward, director of the Office of Bar Admissions at the Supreme Court, explained that “As it stands now, bar exam applicants who graduate from a “3+3” program must seek a waiver of the rule in order to sit for the exam.”

  Public comments to the proposed amendments will be entertained until January 22, 2014 and should be addressed to:

Lee Ann Ward, director, Office of Bar Admissions
65 S. Front St., Fifth Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Or via e-mail to leeann.ward@sc.ohio.gov.

  Text of Amendment

  U.S. News & World Report last year reported on the emerging trend to develop accelerated JD programs, and Wikipedia describes two such types of programs, noting that, while there are no law schools in Ohio with accelerated “3+3” programs, the University of Dayton School of Law has a 2-year accelerated JD program.