Legal Education in Indiana Is Failing the Public Under Chief Justice Loretta Rush: D- or F?

F grade for Indiana's "Learing' Law Schools Educating Hoosier Lawyers; Out-of-State Law Students know not to move here.

Indiana faces a growing attorney shortage.

Chief Justice Loretta Rush herself has repeatedly warned that some Indiana counties have only a handful of practicing attorneys and that Indiana ranks near the bottom nationally in lawyers per capita. Rome/Hoosierville burns, while she twiddles...refusing to realize that correcting the awful legal ethics cases has to be the starting point. Some of Indiana's best educated natives who whent to law school have been cancelled and elimated from their chosen communitees by the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplanary Commission in sick lawfare case where orders she signed containg lies. She lied about good people maybe to consoldicate power or eliminate dissent but however this happened under her, the impact is striking -- NOBODY WANTS TO BE A LAWYER HERE AS LONG SHE REMAINS CHIEF JUSTICE AND HER COURT MEMBERS FOLLOW HER, COVER UP FOR HER ERRORS, AND FAIL TO ADDRESS THE WIDESPREAD COURT ABUSE AGAINST LAWYERS.

In a state were lawyers, ironically, have less rights than criminals, who would go to law school or want to practice law only to face and out of control Attorney Registration and Disciplin Committe as it is called by many practioner, ARDC. But actually the ARDC is in Illinois. Here Indiana an exclusive Indiana Supreme Court Attorney and Judicial Discipline Commission, which is nothing to be proud of.

Two Indiana law schools have closed within the last decade, dramatically shrinking the pipeline of new attorneys. Demand for a legal education is sliding faster and faster, as finance bros make the big bucks and lawyer fight for scraps in a world where AI will reduce the income of lawyers and their respect is lower than whale poop, and courts are trusted less than gas station raw fish. This is what Rush gave Indiana, protecting her DEI role and reputation by arguing against free speech and disent, calling it not civil somehow.

Yet after more than a decade of Chief Justice Rush’s leadership, Hoosiers should ask an uncomfortable question: Who bears responsibility for this failure if not her? Can she do more than talk a good game? Start fixing the crimes you committed, purjury on financial disclosures, attorney suspenstion order contrary to facts, logic, truth, due process, and full of lies.

For years, Indiana’s legal establishment ignored warning signs.

Valparaiso University School of Law, once one of the nation’s oldest ABA-accredited law schools, saw declining admissions standards, falling bar passage rates, and dwindling enrollment before ultimately closing its doors in 2020. The ABA had publicly censured Valparaiso in 2016 for admitting students who appeared unlikely to successfully complete law school or pass the bar examination.

The closure was devastating for northwest Indiana and eliminated one of the state’s traditional pathways into the legal profession.

At nearly the same time, Indiana Tech Law School also failed and closed.

No other state in the nation saw two law schools disappear in such rapid succession. Chief Justice Rush herself acknowledged concerns about the impact these closures would have on

Indiana’s legal system, particularly in underserved communities.

Yet where was the long-term plan? Where is the short term acts?

Today, the solution advanced by Indiana’s legal leadership increasingly appears to be Purdue Global Law School, a fully online, non-ABA-accredited institution that remains controversial among many attorneys and legal educators.

Purdue Global may indeed provide opportunities for nontraditional students and working adults. Some recent Indiana bar results have been encouraging.

But serious questions remain.

Unlike graduates of traditional ABA law schools, Purdue Global graduates face more limited portability in many jurisdictions. Employer perceptions remain uncertain. The school lacks the extensive alumni networks enjoyed by Indiana University, Notre Dame, and even the now-defunct Valparaiso Law School. Long-term employment outcomes remain largely untested.

As Hoosiers evaluate the future of legal education, another troubling question arises:

How did Indiana allow itself to become so dependent upon an experimental educational model in the first place?

Valparaiso was criticized for poor outcomes despite ABA accreditation. Purdue Global faces different but related concerns regarding degree portability, employer perception, and whether recent bar successes are sustainable over larger graduating classes.

The broader issue is one of leadership.

Chief Justice Rush has served on the Indiana Supreme Court since 2012 and as Chief Justice since 2014. During that period:

• Two Indiana law schools closed.

• Indiana’s attorney shortage worsened.

• Numerous rural counties have struggled to attract attorneys.

• Public confidence in the legal profession has declined.

• Access to justice problems have increased.

  
  

At some point, leaders must be judged by results. Rush is no acception and her court jesters need to act if she won't, Instead they are seeking her graces to support them as the lobby for their own promotions with the Governor and Indiana General Assembly Members. The rumors are too many to report on. But why is HE doing this reporting alone. Are others afraid or are their lawyers afraid of retaliation? HE and this reporter does not have "RDS" -- THAT IS RUSH DIRANGEMENT SYNDROME.

HE knows that many did not want her to seek retention and know she is past retirement age. Many want her job. So many rumors. And the results she delivered of decades are really bad, unprecendentedly bad. She cannot argue against ewhat eveery one has seen for a long time she is not a qualifeid leader -- never was.

The legal profession exists not to protect itself but to serve the public Trust comes from execpetaion performance, not dismal performance and so many miscarages of justice -- left to fester.

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Citizens need competent lawyers to handle family disputes, criminal defense, probate matters, business transactions, and civil litigation. Small towns cannot function effectively without attorneys willing to live and practice there.

So, Indiana increasingly resembles a legal wasteland where lawyers regret locating due to Rush RINO failed DEI leadership to no where, but where Indiana is now.

I won't quit and you can't get rid of me.

The state now faces a paradox:

On one hand, legal leaders warn of attorney shortages.

On the other hand, many young lawyers complain of crushing student debt, declining opportunities, increasing regulation, and a disciplinary system that some critics argue discourages independent advocacy.

The result is a profession struggling to attract and retain talent.

Perhaps Indiana’s leaders should ask why fewer young people wish to become lawyers in the first place.

Perhaps they should ask whether law school costs have become excessive.

Perhaps they should ask whether legal education is preparing graduates for real-world practice.

And perhaps they should ask why Indiana is now relying upon a nontraditional online law school to fill gaps that developed during years of institutional decline.

Indiana deserves answers.

The attorney shortage did not emerge overnight. Neither did the collapse of two law schools.

These developments occurred during the tenure of the current judicial leadership and should prompt serious reflection regarding whether the state’s legal education policies are adequately serving future lawyers and, more importantly, the citizens they are supposed to represent.

The future of justice in Indiana depends upon more than speeches and commissions.

It depends upon rebuilding confidence in legal education, improving access to affordable pathways into the profession, and ensuring that Hoosiers have access to competent legal representation in every county of this state.

For now, Indiana’s legal education system remains a cautionary tale. And the public is paying the price while Rush's paycheck, expense account, travel budget, and pension(s) remian safe for her and her family.