2023-2024 Law School Catalog > Academic Rules and Regulations > Readmissions > Consideration of Readmission Applications and Petitions

Consideration of Readmission Applications and Petitions

1. Non-Academic Separations. A student who has previously voluntarily withdrawn from the law school with decanal approval who was administratively withdrawn for failure to enroll or attend classes, who has been previously dismissed for administrative reasons, or was dismissed for disciplinary reasons must submit a petition seeking readmission in order to reenter the law school. Such petitions, which must be submitted on a form provided by the Admissions Office, will be considered by the Admissions Office in consultation with the Dean of Students and Associate Deans . In the case of a student dismissed for disciplinary reasons, the Admissions Office will make a recommendation to the faculty, which will determine whether to readmit the student. A student who is readmitted to the law school after having withdrawn or having been dismissed for administrative or disciplinary reasons is subject to the academic requirements and regulations in force upon reentry. All petitions seeking readmission after a non-academic separation must address, in detail, the reasons for the student’s prior withdrawal or dismissal and provide a statement explaining why the prior circumstances will no longer affect the student’s ability to successfully study law and practice law.
2. Academic Separations. A student who has previously been dismissed for academic reasons and wishes to reenter the law school must submit a written petition for readmission. Such petition, submitted on a form provided by the Admissions Office, will be considered by the Faculty Academic Standing Committee or its designees. The Academic Standing Committee shall not act favorably upon a readmission petition unless the petitioner has demonstrated to the Committee’s satisfaction by clear and convincing evidence that the petitioner possesses the requisite ability to succeed in the study of law.

The petition shall be in three parts:

• Part I shall inform the Committee of the reasons for the petitioner’s academic deficiency while enrolled in the law school. Full documentation of the circumstances must accompany the petition. If such reasons involve physical or psychological incapacity before or during examinations, full documentation of the problem from a treating professional must accompany the petition.
• Part II shall inform the Committee of all events in the petitioner’s life since the date of the petitioner's academic dismissal that bear on the petitioner’s ability to succeed in the study of law. Part II shall include relevant information, supported when appropriate by verifying documentation, pertaining to the petitioner’s post-dismissal employment history and/or academic pursuits, post-dismissal medical history (to the extent that it bears on the ability to study law) and post-dismissal arrests and/or convictions, if any.
• Part III shall inform the Committee of the reasons why the petitioner believes that the student now possesses the requisite ability to succeed in the study of law. Included in Part III shall be an explanation of why the cause(s) of the petitioner’s academic deficiency will not continue to interfere with the petitioner’s ability to succeed in the study of law.

A petitioner’s failure to apprise the Committee of all relevant facts that bear on the petitioner’s ability to succeed in the study of law, including those that are adverse to the petitioner, or to furnish appropriate verifying documentation, in and of itself is grounds for denial of the readmission application.

Historically, readmission to the law school following academic dismissal is rarely approved. In those cases where the Committee acts favorably on a petition for readmission, the Committee has wide latitude to place conditions on readmission as it deems advisable in order to increase the likelihood that the readmitted student will succeed in the study of law. By way of example only, the Committee may require that no academic credit be awarded for a course for which the petitioner received a satisfactory grade while enrolled at the law school prior to academic dismissal. An applicant who is readmitted to the law school following academic dismissal is subject to the academic requirements and regulations in force upon reentry.