Connecticut Bar Examining Committee’s monumental decision moves Purdue Global Law School forward

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Connecticut Bar Examining Committee (CBEC) on Oct. 4 reached a monumental decision, unanimously voting to allow graduates of Purdue Global Law School to sit for the Connecticut bar exam upon graduation. It is the first time that a state other than California has permitted graduates of a fully online law school to sit for its bar exam immediately upon graduation. An Indiana Supreme Court ruling in February 2024 allows Purdue Global Law School graduates to apply for a waiver to sit for the Indiana bar exam.

The approval allows Purdue Global Law School graduates to take the Connecticut bar exam for three years, beginning with the February 2025 bar exam. This approval applies to Purdue Global Law School graduates who received degrees in the calendar year 2024 and going forward.

“We are thrilled that Connecticut has opened a path for our graduates to become licensed attorneys there,” said Martin Pritikin, dean and vice president of Purdue Global Law School. “Connecticut has made a bold move in recognizing the viability of online law school and its importance for those who cannot fit a traditional education into their lives.”

Pritikin successfully led efforts to have the CBEC reconsider a vote from 2018, in which the committee narrowly defeated the law school’s request to be deemed eligible for Connecticut’s bar exam.

The Oct. 4 decision provides momentum for Purdue Global as the American Bar Association continues to consider eliminating the requirement of a physical campus for ABA-approved law schools. Pritikin hopes this could lead to revisions to additional ABA standards that would allow fully online law schools like Purdue Global to apply for provisional and then full ABA approval.

“It is clear that the pandemic was a watershed moment in the recognition of the power of online learning,” Pritikin said. “When done right, online law school can be just as good as — or better than — an in-person program in many respects.”

Roughly two dozen Purdue Global Law School alums and six current students reside in Connecticut.

Launched in 1998, Purdue Global Law School was founded as the nation’s first fully online school. The online option provides students the flexibility to balance classes, work and family while being able to stay in their communities. Because Purdue Global Law School does not incur the costs of maintaining a physical campus, it is able to offer total program tuition for approximately one-third the cost of traditional law schools.

About Purdue Global Law School

Purdue Global Law School is part of Purdue Global, the public, nonprofit, online school for working adults backed by Purdue University. Founded in 1998, Purdue Global Law School was the first to offer students a traditional law school program in an affordable, online format. For more information, please visit PurdueGlobalLawSchool.edu.