DEAR ABBY: Your response to "Livonia, Mich., Reader" (April 27) was ALMOST correct. Please allow me to clarify.
Every law school graduate is awarded a J.D. (Juris Doctor) regardless of his/her performance on the bar exam. However, only graduates who PASS the bar exam can be called Esquire (Esq.) Simply put, J.D. is the degree; Esq. is the qualification to practice law. -- FORMER LEGAL SECRETARY
DEAR FORMER LEGAL SECRETARY: I had relied on my dictionary for the answer to that question. Thank you for educating me -- to a "degree."