Today we were pleased to have Kelly Carithers and Jim Gresham, two Arkansas Bar Examiners, and Chris Thomas, the Director of the Office of Professional Programs for the Arkansas Judiciary, visit with us.

First, they met with law school faculty at lunch to share important information concerning the Bar exam. Chris Thomas began by talking about the nascent movement towards a national Bar exam. There are a number of state judiciary officials from around the country who have been meeting together to talk about the creation of a national Bar exam, and Mr. Thomas shared the issues surrounding that with us. Mr. Gresham and Ms. Carithers stressed Bar exam study methods, and said students needed to practice writing old exam questions, rather than just relying on the Bar-Bri buzz words. This has been a consistent problem during the time that Mr. Gresham and Ms. Carithers have been serving as bar examiners. After meeting with the faculty, all three visitors spent an hour with our students discussing the test.

I want to say thank you again to the Bar Examiners for coming to visit, particularly since Mr. Thomas was recovering from a cold, and because the weather was a little bit of a challenge. We’re very grateful to them for taking time out of their very busy schedules, and for their service to the legal community as Bar Examiners. Our licensing process could not function without their service and we’re very thankful for their dedication to the Bar.