Iowa Supreme Court scraps class for new attorneys

Newly licensed Iowa attorneys will no longer have to take a course on Iowa-specific law that was previously required within one year of being admitted to the bar, the Iowa Supreme Court ordered on Wednesday.

The so-called basic skills course was designed to give new attorneys a foundation in Iowa-specific law in a variety of areas, including criminal law, civil procedure, family and probate law and ethics. However, the Iowa Supreme Court began reviewing the requirement in response to criticism that the course was time-consuming and unnecessary.

In a letter to the court, Iowa State Bar Association President Joe Feller wrote that requiring the course after new attorneys were already licensed wasn't logical. Additionally, licensed Iowa attorneys are already required to take 15 hours of continuing legal education courses on a yearly basis, making it unnecessary to single out new lawyers, Feller wrote.

Others making public comments argued that the course crammed too much information into a short period. In an order eliminating the rule on Wednesday, Chief Justice Mark Cady wrote that the old requirement was too rigid.

"The court remains highly supportive of continuing legal education (CLE) focused on Iowa law and practice for newly admitted lawyers," Cady wrote. "The court finds, however, that the Basic Skills Course rule hampers the ability of CLE providers ... to incorporate interesting and productive suggestions and evolving methods of instruction intended to make content more valuable for newly admitted lawyers."

The supreme court received 20 written comments on the proposed change, including a letter supporting the change from Drake University Law School Dean Benjamin Ullem.

In his letter, Ullem wrote that the basic skills course needed to include more practical information about topics like Iowa's new electronic filing system. New attorneys gave feedback that the course was more like a bar exam preparation class and it took time away from their jobs, he wrote.

However, not all comments encouraged scrapping the course. Des Moines attorney Justin Sullivan wrote that the basic skills class was necessary, as law schools and bar examination prep classes don't go in-depth into Iowa law.

"The Iowa Basic Skills course provided me with a readily accessible, Iowa-specific outline for most general practice areas," he wrote. "The course also provided many forms and practice pointers that typically are not provided anywhere else."