Opinion ID: 2116841
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Selected Excerpts from Material Submitted on Behalf of the Applicant

Text: 1. Joseph Isenbergh, Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School, submitted an affidavit stating: Ms. Altshuler was a student of mine in two courses this past year at the University of Chicago Law School: a course in corporate income tax and a seminar in tax policy. Her performance in both was fully commensurate with that of advanced law students who have covered most of the ground necessary for a J.D. degree ... Ms. Altshuler's overall performance in her L.L.M. year at the University of Chicago Law School put her in the top 20% of graduating students. In the L.L.M. program Ms. Altshuler took substantial and difficult courses, courses that normally are not approached by American law students until they have had considerable grounding in more basic legal subjects. It is extremely unlikely that a student could survive (let alone do well, as Ms. Altshuler did) without a grounding in the essentials fully comparable to that obtained by an American law student pursuing a J.D. degree in an ABA-accredited law school. This conclusion is confirmed by a glance at Ms. Altshuler's record at the Tel-Aviv University Faculty of Law, where her course of study was extensive in all fundamental branches of law. 2. Geoffrey P. Miller, Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School, states in his affidavit as follows: Ms. Altshuler was my student in the Banking Law course here at the University of Chicago Law School. She was an excellent student in all respectsdiligent in class preparation, thoughtful in class comments, and well-liked and respected by her fellow students. Despite the fact that her legal training was in Israel, her knowledge of and sophistication in American legal principles as demonstrated in the class was fully equal to those of her American-born colleagues. Her English is flawless. She performed with distinction in the class and on her examination. I understand that Ms. Altshuler also earned high marksas well as the admiration and respect of her professorsin the other courses she took at the Law School. She selected some of the most difficult and technical courses offered here: corporations, corporate income tax, securities regulation, as well as banking law. She also was ambitious enough to take the course in law and literature from Judge Richard Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. I was so impressed by Ms. Altshuler's abilities that I hired her as my summer research assistant this year. She is currently working in that capacity. She displays excellent diligence and fine research skills in American legal materials. She also has shown excellent analytical skills. While some research assistants are useful only for such tasks as cite checking and searches for authority, I have found myself increasingly turning to Ms. Altshuler for her views on substantive legal points. Her judgment is invariably sound and her intuition excellent. During the course of my professional career I have had the privilege of meeting many attorneys licensed to practice in the state of Wisconsin. I have been extremely impressed by their quality and their commitment to social justice and public service. Ms. Altshuler, in my opinion, would be a credit to this bar, for she is a person of great substance, considerable intelligence, and enormous integrityas well as a superbly qualified lawyer. Accordingly, I earnestly hope that you might give favorable consideration to Ms. Altshuler's request for reconsideration. I would be very happy to speak with any member of your committee further about this matter if you desire. 3. Professor Geoffrey R. Stone, Dean of the University of Chicago Law School, wrote as follows: I am writing in support of Ms. Yotvat Adi Altshuler's petition for a waiver of the requirement that candidates for the bar examination hold a first professional degree in law from a law school approved by the American Bar Association. I can attest that Ms. Altshuler's experience in the LL.M. program at the University of Chicago Law School was at the very highest level. The courses she took during her year here are representative of those taken by third-year students. Moreover, her performance in her courses was consistently strong. Her final average of 78.54 places her in the top 15% of the J.D. students. Moreover, the courses she took, such as Corporation Law, Banking Law, Corporate Income Tax, Commercial Law, Federal Regulation of Securities, and Advanced Corporations, all presume a sophisticated knowledge of the American legal system. That Ms. Altshuler did so well in these courses is powerful evidence that she has a solid grounding in that material and that she has the capacity to be an excellent attorney in the American legal system.