Law School Committee Limits Third-Year Transfer Program

Law School officials this week announced they will limit the number of students allowed to take their third years at other law schools in order to be closer to family members and close friends.

Mary D. Upton, assistant dean of the Law School, said yesterday the Law School Admissions Committee (LSAC) decided to allow only ten third-year students per year to participate in the school's "hardship" program because of the steadily increasing number of students requesting third-year transfers.

Emergency

She said, however, that students who request third-year transfers because of illness in the family or other emergency reasons will be considered separately.

Upton said the Committee last year allowed 23 of the 25 students who applied to take their third years at other schools, adding that 12 of those students actually decided to go elsewhere.

Divide By Two

In 1978, ten students requested these "hardship" leaves, double the number of 1977 applicants, Upton said.

LSAC decided to limit the number of third-year "hardship" transfers because "We don't want to give the message that Law Schoob is a two-year experience with a third year elsewhere," Upton said, adding, "Law school is a three-year experience."

Upton said the Committee considered limiting the program to married students but decided against it to be fair to unmarried students.

Several Law School students said yesterday they believe the limit is very arbitrary. "A lot of people want to go for valid reasons, and they admit that the reasons are valid," one student said, adding, "They ought to take each case on its merit."