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Board of Admissions seeks to define 'first degree in law' and trim redundant education language
Summary
The Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar proposed amending Rule 703 to clarify that a first law degree means a JD or LLB and to remove redundant references to preliminary and college work, aiming to reduce confusion for foreign-educated applicants.
Lexi Rice, a staff attorney with the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar, told the rules committee the board's proposal 24-15 would clarify educational prerequisites for bar applicants. "The board is seeking to eliminate reference to the preliminary and college work as that language is redundant with the ABA requirements," she said. "[We seek] to define what is meant by 1st degree in law as a JD or an LLB, a Juris Doctorate or a Bachelor's of Law, and to clarify that an LLM or an SJD is not a 1st degree in law."
Rice said the change is not substantive policy but is intended to preempt questions from foreign-licensed applicants unfamiliar with U.S. legal education. Committee members asked for a brief clarification on how an LLM is treated; Rice and Eric Lorenz explained that an LLM from an ABA institution does not, on its own, qualify as a first degree in law for admission purposes. The board submitted supporting written materials and reported the ISBA backed the proposal.
