A consequential year for UTulsa’s College of Law
The last 12 months have been a dynamic time in the life of The University of Tulsa’s College of Law. The faculty added six new members, including a new leader of the Mabee Legal Information Center, decreasing the student-faculty ratio to 7.8 from 9.6. The college also hosted several high profile events, including lectures from Andrew McCanse Wright (KL Gates) on national security law; Maria Kolar (Oklahoma City University) on the felony murder rule; Judge Timothy Walmsley (Chatham County, Georgia), who presented on the Ahmaud Arberry decision; Maurice Ruffin (Louisiana State University), who discussed his book “The American Daughters;” Timothy Dodsworth (Reading University, United Kingdom), who discussed contract remedies and morality; and Stephen Vladek (Georgetown), who held student, faculty and public sessions on the Supreme Court, in addition to community leaders, practitioners and judges who engaged with our students in a variety of settings.
In addition to the programming that has enriched the intellectual life of our college and community, the law school has been actively preparing for the sea change represented by the Next Gen Bar Exam. As the bar exam transitions to the NextGen format, it presents challenges and opportunities for legal education. Chief among these challenges – as is often the case – are the uncertainties. Ten jurisdictions will implement the NextGen Bar Exam beginning with the July 2026 administration (Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Palau, the Virgin Islands and Washington). Most other states will follow in 2027 and 2028. Oklahoma will officially adopt the exam in February 2027, while Texas plans to transition with the July 2028 administration. The unknowns are straightforward: Bar takers have never faced this form of exam, exam graders have never graded this type of exam, and law schools have never prepared students for this kind of testing environment.
In response, the faculty has undertaken a holistic curriculum reform for the first time since 2014, focused on developing skills students need for the practice of law and to be successful on the new bar exam. In January, UTulsa’s College of Law signed on with Access Lex’s Helix Bar program to provide every student that graduates with a top-end bar preparation program. As a part of our program, we will offer bar simulation courses as well as an integration with our academic support program for pre-one L, 1L, 2L and 3L academic and bar support services. Access Lex/Helix have enjoyed great success in the past few years with other law schools posting significant increases in bar success.
As we approach this new frontier of the bar exam, law schools are increasingly recognizing the need to be methodical in the way we prepare students for this new reality. As we join forces with Access Lex and Helix, we are striving to not see the bar exam as the end point, but the base line goal for what it means to produce competent, practice-ready lawyers and practitioners. In addition to the enhancements to our bar program, The University of Tulsa is proud to recognize new initiatives that build our students’ bar-ready skills while strengthening their curiosity and creativity in the law. That includes recent partnerships with the American Arbitration Association to bolster student mediation skills; the expansion of our externship program to offer more than 300 annual extern opportunities for students; the development of new courses like the Judicial Clerkship Practicum, Advanced Property Problems Practicum, a seminar on Peace Keeping Courts and Food and Agricultural Law, to name a few; and the growth of our clinical programs to build skills in client counseling, problem solving and advocacy.
As the law school faces the new frontier of legal education, we do so confident that we continue to be a place where intellectual life is cultivated, practice skills are honed and the legal community and local community are enriched by our work.