Failing Character and Fitness Due to Law School Debt

With law school costs climbing ever higher, current law school graduates face student debt loads that routinely top six figures. For a growing number of bar applicants in various states, the magnitude or management of this student debt is becoming a problem for purposes of the character and fitness examination required for bar admission. In extreme cases, massive student debt has alone been a reason for failing character and fitness. This Note proposes a change to the Arizona Supreme Court Rules to render student loan debt information presumptively irrelevant to a bar applicant’s character and fitness.