A. University of Iowa College of Law NYS Bar Rule 520.18 Pathway 1 Plan

In December 2015, the New York Court of Appeals adopted Rule 520.18.  This rule modifies the requirements for admission to the New York Bar by creating a Skills Competency Requirement. This requirement, which is applicable to all students who begin their J.D. studies in August of 2016 or thereafter, establishes five pathways by which law students can qualify for admission to the New York Bar. 

We anticipate that virtually all of our J.D. students who apply for admission to the New York Bar will be certified for admission through Pathway 1, which allows applicants to satisfy the skills competency requirement by submitting a certification from their law school confirming that “(a) the law school has developed a plan identifying and incorporating into its curriculum the skills and professional values that, in the school’s judgment, are required for its graduates’ basic competence and ethical participation in the legal profession, as required by American Bar Association Standards and Rules of Procedure for the Approval of Law Schools Standard 302(b), (c) and (d), and has made this plan publicly available on the law school’s website, and (b) the applicant has acquired sufficient competency in those skills and sufficient familiarity with those values.”  Rule 520.18, Pathway 1.  Other pathways, including prior legal practice, are available under Rule 520.18. 

The University of Iowa College of Law’s JD requirements, as guided by its institutional learning outcomes, establish that all students receiving the JD degree, including transfer students, will acquire and graduate with the skills and professional values required for legal practice. The College of Law will certify students under Rule 520.18, Pathway 1, upon successful completion of the following requirements for the JD: 

1. Introduction to Law and Legal Reasoning, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law I, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, and Torts;
2. Legal Analysis, Writing and Research I and II;
3. The 3-credit Professional Responsibility course;
4. At least four upper-level writing units, at least two of which must be directly supervised by a faculty member; and
5. One or more experiential courses totaling at least six credit hours.

In order to successfully complete a course at the College of Law so as to satisfy these requirements, including the writing, upper-level Constitutional Law, Professional Responsibility, and experiential coursework, a student must obtain a passing grade, meaning a grade of 1.8 or higher, or, in a course taken Pass/Fail, a grade of Pass. 

This required curriculum incorporates the skills and values that, in the College of Law’s judgment, are required for its graduates’ basic competence and ethical participation in the legal profession. 

The College of Law will also certify a transfer student if coursework equivalent to the above requirements is completed prior to or during the student’s time at the College of Law. 

For additional detail on the College of Law graduation requirements, see the Academic Policies and Procedures, which may be found at the beginning of the Student Handbook.

B. Student Complaints about the College’s Program of Legal Education

Adopted 4/2020; amended 10/2023.

As a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (“ABA”), the University of Iowa College of Law will respond to complaints from students about a “significant problem that directly implicates the College’s program of legal education and its compliance with” the ABA’s Standards for the Approval of Law Schools (“Standards”).¹ Student complaints may provide useful information to the College and will receive a prompt and thorough response.

The following procedures outline the process of submitting and receiving a response to a student complaint:

1. Students wishing to file a complaint about the College’s program of legal education and its compliance with ABA Standards must do so in writing to the Dean.[3] A complaint is “written” when submitted via e-mail, fax, or paper. The complaint must “allege facts implicating the law school’s compliance with the Standards even if a specific Standard is not cited in the complaint.” ABA Standard 510. The complaint should state which ABA Standards are involved. The complaint must also contain the student’s contact information, including name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address.
2. The Dean must respond in writing to such a complaint within 20 business days of submission. The response will include findings and any actions taken or proposed to resolve the complaint.  There is no appeal from the Dean’s decision.
3. The College will maintain a record of all complaints filed pursuant to these procedures for 11 years from the date of the complaint’s final resolution. All records of complaints will be confidentially maintained by the Dean.
4. This complaint process is not intended to serve as an additional mechanism to appeal a decision about student discipline or academic disputes. Rather, the process shall apply only to complaints clearly falling within the scope described in Paragraph 1 above.
5. This policy will appear in the Student Handbook with a footnote identifying the Dean by name.²

C. References to Associate Dean for Student Affairs

Adopted 2/2025. 

References in these Policies and Procedures to the “Dean of Students,” the “Dean of Student Affairs,” the “Associate Dean of Students Affairs,” and the “Associate Dean for Student Affairs” shall all refer to the person designated by the Dean under this Section as being primarily responsible for the administration of student affairs.