New York lawmakers propose legislation providing law graduates with path to law practice without bar exam

July 23, 2020

SPECTRUM NEWS — New York law students should be granted a form of diploma privilege to become practicing attorneys after the state bar examination scheduled for September was canceled. Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assemblywoman Jo Ann Simon backed the legislation that would apply to law school graduates for the duration of the declared state of emergency for the coronavirus

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North Carolina law graduates petition state court for diploma privilege

July 23, 2020

SPECTRUM NEWS — He’s one of about 700 people slated to take the exam in fewer than three weeks.  “We have to make a decision between our personal health and the health of our families and our career,” Rodrigues says. Unable to gain a firm grip over the pandemic, more than 30 states have canceled, postponed, or

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Tennessee law graduates petition state supreme court for emergency diploma privilege to enter practice

July 23, 2020

10 NEWS NBC — The Tennessee Supreme Court canceled July’s Bar Exam because of the coronavirus pandemic. Newly graduated law students are looking for answers for an uncertain future. The test was originally scheduled for July 28, but around 3 weeks before the exam, the state rescheduled it for September and October.

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Tennessee cancels in-person September bar exam and offers online exam in October

July 23, 2020

ABA JOURNAL — Following a recent order that its July bar exam was rescheduled for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, the Tennessee Supreme Court on Monday canceled that test as well over public health concerns. It is now offering the online exam prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners on Oct. 5-6.

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Virginia law graduates petition bar examiners for diploma privilege to enter practice

July 23, 2020

THE ROANOKE TIMES — Citing concerns over potential COVID-19 infection, a group of law school graduates who are registered to take the Virginia bar exam in Roanoke at the end of this month have proposed an unconventional solution: waive that notoriously difficult requirement.

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ABA informs ten law schools of non-compliance with bar pass standard

July 23, 2020

THE NATIONAL JURIST — The American Bar Association has put ten law schools on notice for failing to meet its new bar pass standard. The standard requires that 75% of a law school’ graduates from the class of 2017 pass the bar within two years. The standard is one of the more controversial moves by the

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Opinion: Stanford Law professor Jason Solomon outlines steps for improving the bar exam

July 23, 2020

BLOOMBERG LAW — Difficult decisions by state bars around this year’s bar exam should not obscure the considerable consensus around how to improve it long-term. Jason Solomon, executive director of the Stanford Center on the Legal Profession, says bar examiners should feel confident that an under-appreciated part of the existing exam—the performance test—can be a large

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California schedules remote bar exam in October and lowers bar pass score permanently

July 22, 2020

THE SACRAMENTO BEE — California is refusing to cancel its bar exam despite complications created by the COVID-19 pandemic — but is offering would-be lawyers the option of taking an online test or accepting a “provisional” license that’s good for up to two years.

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New York cancels September bar exam amid health concerns

July 22, 2020

BLOOMBERG LAW — The New York Board of Law Examiners has canceled the state’s September bar exam as a result of ongoing concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.

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New Hampshire to remove mental health questions from bar application

July 20, 2020

CONCORD MONITOR — New Hampshire has joined other states in removing questions from its bar application about mental health history, diagnosis, or treatment when determining character and fitness for bar admissions.

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