TO:
Class of 2011
FROM: Dean for Students and Academic Services
RE:
Information regarding bar applications
DATE: March 2011
For the bar application purposes your official graduation date is May 23, 2011. We hold our
commencement exercises on Friday of that week—May 27th—but your official graduation date is
when the University confers degrees and that is on May 23 this year.
1. Your dates of attendance are August 25, 2008 to May 13, 2011 and the degree you are
receiving is the Juris Doctor—J.D.
2.
Make sure you check the filing deadline in any jurisdiction in which you may be taking
the bar. Some jurisdictions allow for late filing with a fee—for example, the Illinois filing deadline
was Feb 1st but you still can file by paying a late fee. Some states have one filing deadline with NO
provision for a late filing. Massachusetts is one of those jurisdictions, as is New York. Make sure
that you go to the official web site of any jurisdiction in which you plan to take the bar and verify the
last date to file an application to take the July, 2011 bar.
3.
Make sure you read through the application to see what supporting documents you
need. It can actually time some time to complete the application and to compile the documents.
For example:
 If you are taking the bar in a state that requires successful passage of the MPRE
before you may sit for the bar examination, make sure you have either
arranged to have the score sent to the bar in that state or you have enough time
to contact the MPRE office and get an official copy of your score well before the
bar filing deadline.
 Some state bars require you to submit a copy of your application to law school
with your bar application. Make sure you come to Academic Services well in
advance of the deadline to obtain a copy.
 You may, and probably will, need to provide a list of all the places you have lived
and all the jobs you have had since you graduated from high school. It is your
responsibility to make your best efforts to gather this information in as full and
complete a form as possible. It may take some time, so don’t leave that task to
the last minute.
 You may have to get a letter of reference or recommendation in support of your
application, and possibly more than one. (For example, In Massachusetts you
have to have a member of the Massachusetts bar sign your application, and you
have to get a letter of reference.) Read the requirements carefully. The letter
of reference or recommendation may not have to be from a lawyer; in some
states it need only be from a person who has known you for a substantial length
of time. The important point is to plan accordingly. If you need a letter of

recommendation from a member of the bar, make sure to ask your
recommender well in advance of when you need the letter. Many students ask
professors to submit letters. In my experience professors are happy to do so,
but may not be able to given end of semester time constraints, so also consider
other options such as employers, former teachers or professors, supervisors at
volunteer experiences.
You may, and probably will, have to report whether or not you have been a
party to a lawsuit, whether as plaintiff or defendant, whether you were ever
terminated from any employment position, disciplined by any educational
institution or convicted of any crime, whether a felony or misdemeanor. I will
give you the advice I give I always give in these cases—answer honestly and
completely. Don’t try to “out lawyer” the bar examiners and decide a semester
suspension in college for an alcohol violation was really not very important and
so does not need to be reported. If you want to discuss how to phrase your
response, I am happy to meet and talk to you about this, but my answer is going
to be the same—report and make a full disclosure.
You will need a certificate of completion of legal studies to file with your bar
application. Different states handle filing of these certificates differently. For
Massachusetts, the Law School files directly with the Supreme Judicial Court. You do not
have to come to our office to get a certificate of completion to include with your
application. However, if you are applying to a state other than Massachusetts, you will
need to check over the application materials and make sure that you provide us with the
appropriate form you need filed. You may need to send or bring the signed form to our
office for us to complete. Rest assured, once you deliver the proper form to us we will
make sure that the forms are sent in time to meet the deadlines.