Minnesota is about to get 700+ new lawyers

Oct 13th, 2009 by Mark Cohen

The results of this summer’s administration of the Minnesota bar exam were recently released. (Sorry, but the results are published by number, not by name, so as to preserve test-takers anonymity.) Of the approximately 820-830 folks who sat for the July exam (believe it or not, not everyone who registers for the exam actually shows up), a total of 731 passed. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 30 in the Roy Wilkins Auditorium at RiverCentre in St. Paul. While not all the July bar passers will opt to be sworn in that day, the vast majority will.

The bar-passage rate (in the neighborhood of 88 percent) looks consistent with prior years. (Minnesota has one of the highest bar passage rates in the country, no doubt because we are all “above average” here …) The 731 new lawyers join the profession during one of toughest economic times in recent memory. It will be interesting to see how the employment market will accomodate them. (Somewhere around 40 to 50 percent of them had landed jobs when we last talked with them in the spring.)

Welcome (and good luck) to our soon-to-be new brothers and sisters in the bar!

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6 Responses to “Minnesota is about to get 700+ new lawyers”

Newly Minted 2009 says:

October 13, 2009 at 2:14 pm

Thank you for the well wishes. I scored high enough on the MBE (163) to join D.C. and N.D. by motion. Does anyone have an opinion on the value of joining those other bars, from a résumé-enhancement standpoint?
Anon says:

October 13, 2009 at 2:49 pm

Don’t think it makes much difference from resume enhancement — however it allows you to job search in more markets. You don’t have to decide right away though. (In Minnesota, for example, I think your multi-state score is good for two years.) It can get expensive though. Minnesota, for example, has a substantial fee for admitting someone based on multistate score. (I don’t know what the cost is for DC and ND). The other thing you have to think about is you could gt stuck paying two annual license fees and using just one …
Anon says:

October 14, 2009 at 9:51 am

Some DC admission info:
-The current backlog of apps for admission via MBE score for DC means you will not be admitted for about 10-12 months.
-DC admission also requires you to attend (in person) a one-day CLE course within one year of admission. It is offered once a month (every other month it is a Saturday). A small consolation prize: it does count as CLE credit in MN.
-Unlike MN, this one-day course is the only CLE course that DC requires…ever.
Mark Cohen says:

October 14, 2009 at 10:31 am

Good info, Anon #2. The only thing I’ll add is that I would pick April for that one-day CLE. DC looks its best during cherry-blossom season …
Newly Minted 2009 says:

October 14, 2009 at 12:59 pm

Thanks Anon #2 for that info. Much appreciated.
Ex-RB says:

October 14, 2009 at 9:12 pm

Over 700 joining the profession and nowhere near 700 openings to support that kind of entry. Assuming relatively similar numbers entering the profession each of the past ten or so years (heck, let’s even say between 500-600), were there really over 500 positions available in each of those years? Not even close. It’s not the economy that’s putting this kind of pressure on new grads (though it doesn’t help). It’s the same old story year in and year out, through good economic times and bad. The system is simply flawed.