News Scrapbook 1984

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co San Diego Busines Journ I (Cir M. 7,500) JU 61 ,JU/,"'• p C 8 / r

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/HB~ / The bar test blues: a tale oftwo reviews

Those sobering consid rations are behind a ndary boom which has accompanied th nationwide rise in the numbers of at- t m y . In an attempc to improve their odds of becoming full-fledged memers of the le~al fraternity. local law professors say, m re than 90 pcrc nt of applicanL\ will have completed a bar review course. With more than 60,000 men and women n:1trnnally taking talc bar exam , the offer- in of bar reviews cla.. c. ha. bee me big bu mess. The American Bar A ociation has helped the growth of firm. engaging in oflcnng bar review course~ by not condon-

ing such instruction a\ part ofa legal educa- tion, says University of San Diego Pro- fe~&or Mike avin. Currently, two Q-m- panies dominate the rites of summer: a Hartcourt Brace Jovanovich unit called BAR/BRI. and Josephson BRC, head- quartered in Culver City. Joseph. on claims to teach 13,000 . tudents annually and estimates say the two together account for about $15 million in annual sale . In both course , tudent pay about $800 to attend cla. th t generally last three hours per .cssion, averaging four to five continued °"/age 5

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BAR/BRJ does not publish its pass rates. Instead, it distributes Josepshon's figures , claiming that according to "Official Bar Exam Statistics BAR/BRJ is No. I in California," and, "We now know for sure that we have done better at most every California law school." Josephson counters, "BAR/BR1 may know they are No. I , but no one else does. Why doesn't BAR/BRI release their statitics?" Also included in Josephson's literature i a copy of letter, which is "very mislead- ing," according to its author, Dennis S. Avery, assistant dean ofCalifomia Western School'OfLaw. The California ·bar examination is said to be the most diffi- cult in the nation, usually posting the lowest passage rate in the country Dated December 19, 1978, the letter's concluding paragrah reads: "Present statistics do indicate that of our 1978 graduates, those who took Josephson BRC did substantially better than those who took BAR." "It is a misrepresentation. It was written as a confidential letter between lawyers, and I have brought this to his attention," said Avery. "Jo ephson 1s very good, and he really shouldn't have to do this. I am tempted to take legal action." Last May, BAR/BRJ did find itself on the losing end of a court battle involving claims that the company engaged in anti- competitive practices in California, New York and Illinois. As a result, over 150,000 people who took bar review courses offered by the company between 1973 and 1979 will share in a settlement that, under preliminary approval, could reach $14.6 million. /

sessions per week for approximately eight weeks. Additional study aids are offered by each cour e at varying costs. Both professors and course ad- ministrators are quick to note that relative to law school tuition, review class fees are low And the instructors are usually active law professors, who earn from $400 to $ I ,500 a night. Beyond that, however, there is little agreement as to the relative value of their offering. According to Sue Hill, vice president of Josephson, "We were always about $100 more than BAR/BRJ, but they started charging th same because they knew tudents would pay it." BAR/BRJ pays (its professors) more than we do, but we spend more on the student ," Hill added. The California bar examination is said to be the most difficult in the nation, usually posting the lowest passage rate in the coun- try: 48 percent of the 1983 summer exam. Hawaii, for in tance passed 90 percent, Pensylvania, 84 percent, and Michican, 77 percent. As a result, the competition by review firms for California's students is intense. From the first day of law school, students are recruited by both firms. They give tui- tion credit to campus repre entatives who solicit their classmates. Offers of free use of valuable texts while in law school lure students to register in one of the classes as early as their first year. In addition, students register early in an effort to freeze the course prices, which have gone up annually since 1982. either firm will give exact numbers of their San Diego enroUment, but each reports that about 400 students are enrolled in either the day or night classes. Josephson claims that students who em- ployed their classe in the summer of 1982 had a 65 percent succes rate on the bar exam, about a third better than student~ who did not. Of the students from University ofSan Diego who took that exam, Josephson's advertisements claim that "74 percent of Josephson BRC students passed. In contrast to only 71 percent ofthose who chose other means passed."

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San Diego, CJ,,. (San Di go Co.) Evening Tribune tCir. D. 127,4541 JUL 14 19 4

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11'1 18!8 Attorney gets post on it t~nel to revi icfucation San Diego attorney C. Hugh Fried- man, 63, has been appointed to the state Blue Ribbon Commission on the Status or Teaching. Friedman, a La Jolla resident and a professor at the University of San Diego law school, was appointed Thursday, joinlng 13 others who were placed on the commission June 13. He 1s immediate pa t president of the ·tate Board of Education. The commi 10n was created by Bill Hon g, tate superintendent of publtc instruction, and state Sen. Gary Hart and Assemblywoman Teresa Hughes, the Los Angeles Democrats who head the Senate and A embly education committees. During its 18-month life, the com- mil ion will initiate research and re- view proposals to improve the state's educational system in kindergarten through high school. Dorman Commo , managing di- rector of Becker Paribas Inc. and a San Franci co resident, heads the group. p C. 8 f•

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Rancho Santa Fe, CA (San Diego Co.) Rancho Santa Fe Times (Cir. W. 500}

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Jlflr"'• rss Err..::inita~ residents Susan Michael Parisi and Meg Haydon were among the seven gradu- ates to receive their high school degrees from National Uni- versity High School during re- ('ent ceremonies held at the 'ista campus. .ftl-5<5'° Parisi, a memberofflie honor oil. received a National Uni- ersity Merit Scholarship and Essay Scholarship. She also re- ceived early admission to the Honor Program at UCSD. She plans to attend the_llJlll'ersity ofSa~where she will ma- j~journalism. Haydon plans to attend Palo- mar College, travel and work~ ter graduation. L__ p c. 8 , ,,

Sen Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Evening Tribune (Cir. D. 127,454)

JUL 1

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be the subject of a lec- ture to be given by Sister Jose Hob- day, a Roman Catholic nun from Denver, at 7 p.m. Friday at the Doug- las F. Manchester Conferenci..Center at the Univm-sity of San Di~. Ad- mission is $4.50. ....

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Sen Bernardino, CA (San Bernardino Co.) Sun , ' (Cir., o . 81 ,870) (Cir. Sun. 88, 143)

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,..,,. Law degree ;j -55

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SAN DIEG~ Marguerite C. f San Bernardino was among 275 law students receiving a diploma recently during com- mencement ceremonies at the Univer ity of San Diego. S e earne a Juris Doctor graduating magna cum laude. ' Michael, 27, attended Pacific High School and holds a BA de- gree in admmistrative studies. In law school, she was a member of the moot court board. She is the daughter of Kenneth N. and A. Corinn Patterson of San Bernardino. Michael