The 0L Pledge for European Law School Transparency was a pledge made in 2411 by 0Ls (that is, law school applicants) and taken by twelve 0Ls who were European Alliance citizens. The Pledge was a formal document signed in the Cour d'honneur of the Sorbonne Centre Panthéon. (Star Trek: False Vacuum: "Pledge of the Protester")
The Pledge[]
We swear not to attend a law school in the European Alliance within four standard years or until the European Alliance implements fully transparent placement disclosure policies for law schools requiring law schools in the European Alliance to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about post-graduation placement, whichever comes earlier. Should we fail to attend law school within four standard years of the signing date, we swear not to practice law in any jurisdiction in the European Alliance.
The context of the Pledge[]
Many law schools in the European Alliance then falsified placement data. In some of the more egregious claims, law schools were claiming that someone was employed six months after graduation, although the jobs taken did not require or prefer legal qualifications. Or sometimes, the jobs reported that did require or prefer bar passage were short-term employment or part-time employment.
Thus the Pledge signatories and signatory-applicants demanded change on that front.
Who could take the Pledge[]
The Pledge was unlike ordinary petitions: the pledges were taken from a highly competitive pool and each pledge represented a region of the European Alliance that roughly corresponded to the countries of the European Union ca. 1986. Thus there were twelve 0Ls taking the Pledge: six men and six women. Only one of the pledges ended up not attending law school within four years of signing it: Dunames Lopez.
Applying for the Pledge was much more holistic than applying to law school: the criteria to gain the right to sign the Pledge for one's country depended on the quality of the three essays submitted and of their extracurricular activities in university, with grades and, if applicable, pre-law tests such as the Lyran Common Pre-Law Test or the LSAT, being secondary, and no letters of recommendation were needed at all.
Prospective signatories from Northern Ireland entered the competition under Ireland.
Essays[]
Prospective signatories had to write three essays. Their topics were:
- Why does one want to practice law (two letter/A4-sized, double-spaced pages)
- Why is full disclosure of law school placement important (700 words)
- How would your involvement in law school transparency affect your contribution to the legal profession (700 words)
The winners' essays were in the book 1L Life is Hell, written by the Pledge signatories. (Star Trek: False Vacuum: "Scrap Yard Vegas")
People who took the pledge[]
This list is sorted in the order in which the signatories signed the Pledge.
| Name | Country | Law school attended |
|---|---|---|
| Fritz Darmstadt | Germany | University of Queensland |
| Dunames Lopez | Belgium | none (under the Pledge's terms) University of Chicago (after the Pledge expired) |
| Marianne Kwyjibo | France | Yale University |
| Sabrina Romalotti | Italy | University of Oreas |
| Oliver Tavington | Great Britain | Georgetown University |
| Shan Song | Portugal | Kargoth Law School |
| Anissa Aguilar | Spain | University of Betazed |
| Naima Mansour | Greece | University of Alpha Centauri |
| Shen Xiu | Denmark | Central University |
| Paul Pieter Krujimer | Netherlands | Aldanna University |
| Dylan O'Connor | Ireland | Cogley Law School |
| Viviane Barlet | Luxembourg | McGill University |