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I Thursday, September 20, 1834
University of Nebr,''a-Lincoln
Justice reviews court standards
Vol. 04 No. 19
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More taw Graduates fail state, b
By Ann Low
Daily Net raskaa Senior Eejwzter .
It seems nobody knows why
more Nebraska law school grad
uates have failed the state bar
examination since 10S2 than ever
before.
The chairman of the exam com
mission says the test hasn't got-
ten harder. The dean of the UNL
College of Law says his school's
standards haven't gone down.
Justice Thomas M. Shanahan
of the Nebraska Supreme Court
is reviewing the court's standards
for letting lawyers practice in the
state, including the requirements
to take the bar exam.
Currently, the only requirement
to take the exam is a degree from
a law school approved by the
American Bar Association,
Shanahan said.
Since February 1032, 179 out
of 777 or 23 percent of the
law graduates who have sat for
the state bar exam failed, accord
ing to statistics from the Nebraska
Supreme Court clerk's office. In
July, 23.7 percent of 211 failed,
and in February, 43 percent of 61
failed.
Figures dating from 1 963 show
that before 1982, the only time
the failure rate exceeded 15 per .
cent was in February 1078, when
16.7 percent failed.
Of the 21 1 law graduates who
sat for the July exam, 09 were
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from the Creighton University Law
School, 90 were from the UNL
College of Law and 22 were from
law schools in other states.
Twenty percent of the Creighton
graduates failed, 22 percent of
the UNL graduates failed and 45
percent of the out-of-state grad
uates failed.
Bar failure rates vary from state
to state,- said Ken Wade, acting
deputy clerk" of the. Nebraska
Supreme Court. In February 1983,
72 percent of those who sat for
the California bar exam didn't
pass. In Kansas, only 14 percent
failed. In Nebraska 33.4 percent
failed.
These figures can be mislead
ing because requirements to pass
differ, Wade said. A higher pass
ing rate in one state doesn't neces
sarily mean its law schools are
better or that its aspiring lawyers
are more competent, he said.
- Shanahan said he hm no plans
yet to review the state bar exam
or the lav schools.
The two-part test is given twice
a year to law school graduates
who want to practice in Nebraska.
The first part, the Multi-State Bar
Examination, is given in all states
except Iowa, Louisiana, Washing
ton and Indiana. Each state has
its own standards for passing,
Wade said.
The second part is an essay
exam on state laws, made up by
the Nebraska State Bar Commis
- sion.
Grand Island attorney James
Shamberg, chairman of the state
bar commission, said he doesn't
think the test has gotten harder.
ar exam
"When they point to us and say
we've gotten tougher, we say we're
not aware of it," said Shamberg,
who has been on the commission
for about 10 years. Students who
fail the state essay exam usually
do poorly on the multi-state test
as well he said.
Shamberg said he doesn't fault
Nebraska's law schools for the
increased failure rate.
"Both are excellent schools," he
said. Some of the blame may lie
on students who study enough to
get through school, but not enough
to pass the bar, he said.
Harvey S. Perlman, dean of the
UNL College of Law, said he is
"distressed" that so many stu
dents who meet the school's re
quirements are not meeting the
bar commission's standards.
"But I don't know what to be
distressed at," he said. The law
school's standards are not much
different than they were before
the bar failure rate increased, he
said.
In the 1960s, when almost all
law graduates passed the bar, the
admission requirement to the law
college was "basically an under
graduate degree," Perlman said.
Today, the average person admit
ted has a 3.3 grade point average
and has scored in the 60th per
centile on the Law School Apti
tude Test.
Continued on Page 2
even'
ii earn chsmce to-sbin Wheel of Fortune
m
. Dally Nebr&2xa t&7 VMtsr
Cash, treasures and travels are
the potential rewards for the four
UNL representatives v who were
chosen to "spin the wheel" during
"Wheel of Fortune College Week."
Seventeen finalists, who now
have an open invitation to play
"Wheel of Fortune," were chosen
Wednesday. Four of those 17 will
be chosen to represent UNL at
the Nov. 3 and 4 taping of "Wheel
of Fortune College Week."
Harv Selsby, contestant coor
dinator, said the 17 finalists are:
Antoinette Anton, junior, Fashion
Merchandising, Delia Booth, senior
theater arts; Jennifer Burcham,
senior, criminal justice; Kathi Coe,
junior, advertising; Teri Colynn,
of UNL; Frank Dufek, junior, broad
casting Pam Dykeman, sophomore,
business administration; Gary
Erickson, sophomore, political
science; Patty Finke, of UNL; Stacy
Hodakowski, senior, marketing;
Jana Levendofeky, sophomore, un
declared; Kathy Malashock, senior,
advertising; Andy McFarland,
senior, civil engineering; Merrill
Messbarger, graduate, speech;
Randy Rezac, senior, finance;
Richard Sukovat, senior, life
science; and Geri Tarnick, sopho
more, actuarial science.
Finalist Gary Erickson said
curiosity prompted him to try
out for the show. It is easy to
watch the show at home and beat
people, but, "I wondered if I could
do it," he said.
Even if she wasn't chosen for
trie UNL team, finalist Pam Dyke
man said she would like to play
on her own since all 17 finalists
are invited to play "Wheel of For
tune" anytime.
Availability and willingness to
fly to Los Angeles, where the
show will be filmed, will help
determine vho the final four are,
which is why 17 people were
chosen, Selsby said. Contestants
must pay their own expenses, he
said.
(D
9
UNL Career placement office eases
seniors' search for future employer
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All
9
Stories by Ann Lowe
, DHy sbrsthen Sn!or Rtpsrt$r
"Career planning? Vho me? I'm only
a sophomore. I don't even have a major
yet. It's too early to start thinking
about a job."
If you think it's too early to start
planning for a career, Gerry Phaneuf,
director of the UNL Career Planning
and Placement Center, says you're
wrong.
The Career Planning and Placement
Center, in Nebraska Union 230, offers
job placement services to about 1,000
seniors and graduate students each
year. It also offers testing and recruit
ing services for those who plan to
attend graduate and professional
schools.
But the center also helps younger
students who do not know what they
want to do after graduation. Phaneuf
said it is a good idea to visit the' office
before looking for a first job.
"Students forget that we are here for
career planning too," Phaneuf said.
The sooner students start planning,
the easier senior year job hunting wiU
be, he said.
"Tell me about yourself is one of the
toughest questions for students inter
viewing for jobs, Phaneuf said. When
students first visit the Career Planning
and Placement Center, counselors help
find the answers. Counselors discuss
abilities, interests and values and how
students would fit into a career.
Vocational aptitude tests usually are
not necessary for college students,
Phaneuf said. Students are sometimes
referred to the Counseling Center in
Seatcn Hall for aptitude testing. Often,
however, career counselors use infor
mal discussions and self-scoring tests
to- help students learn more about
themselves, he said.
CcEtlnaed cn Pss 2
Job seekers use new point system
to bid on top-priority interviews
Job-hunting seniors and graduate
students no longer have to get up at
dawn, skip classes and scramble to the
placement office to sign up for inter
views. This fall, the UNL Career Planning
and Placement Center is using a new
point-bidding system to assign stu
dents to the interviews they want,
director Gary Phaneuf said.
About 200 companies send recruits
to UNL each year to conduct 6,000 to
10,000 interviews through the place
ment office, Phaneuf said. About 1,000
students a year register for the place
ment program, he said.
Getting an , interview with a big
name company used to mean being
the first to sign up, Phaneuf said. The
number of interviews a student could
have was not restricted. Some stu
dents signed up for jobs they didnt
want and kept others from getting
interviews, he said.
Now students give priority to jobs
they want the most. Job seekers get
500 points each week to bid on inter
views, and they use their points any
way they please, bidding more on top
priority companies.
Students can use all or none of their
points each week, but points are not
accumulated, Phaneuf said. Everyone
begins each week with 500 points.
The placement ofnee takes bids on
Mondays, two weeks before recruiters
are scheduled to visit campus. Points
are added and interviews go to the
highest bidders, Phaneuf said. Lists
are posted Wednesdays and students
have until 5 p.m. Friday to sign up for
interview times. If the slots are not all
taken, students who did not bid may
sign up during the week.
Continued a Fags 2
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