July Bar Exam Update: DC, Maine, Massachusetts

District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Order (May 4, 2020) (press release):

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals plans to administer the Uniform Bar Examination (“UBE”) on September 9-10, 2020, pandemic-related conditions and restrictions permitting. Social distancing protocols as a health and safety measure will be implemented, which will almost certainly limit the available seating. Each examinee will be required to bring, and to wear at all times while in the examination venue, a face mask. As conditions warrant, in the discretion of the Committee on Admissions, examinees may also be required to have their temperatures taken and to be free of fever and to satisfy other screening requirements to gain entry to the exam.

The court expects to administer the examination at multiple venues. We encourage examinees to submit their completed applications to sit for the examination early during the registration period. Seating priority will be given to examinees who will be first-time takers of the bar examination who obtained JD degrees in 2019 or 2020 from an ABA-approved law school (“priority registrants”). Seating of others (for the full UBE examination) will be available on a first come first served basis if space permits.

Registration for priority registrants for the September 9-10 UBE will open on May 18, 2020, and will close on May 28, 2020. 

Bloomberg, D.C. Appeals Court Delays Bar Exam Until September Due to Virus

Maine Board of Bar Examiners, September 2020 Maine Bar Examination – Seat Limit Reached:

Due to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements, the Maine Board of Bar Examiners is limiting the number of seats available for the upcoming September 30/October 1, 2020 Uniform Bar Examination. As of May 4, 2020, the Maine Board of Bar Examiners reached its seating limit and is unable to accept any additional applications at this time.

Massachusettts Board of Bar Examiners, Important Notice - Massachusetts Bar Exam, September 30-October 1, 2020:

The Board of Bar Examiners anticipates that, due to social distancing requirements and to ensure the safety of examinees, the number of available seats may be limited for an in-person administration of the Massachusetts Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), as scheduled for September 30-October 1, 2020. Should the number of applicants to sit for this administration of the Massachusetts UBE exceed the number of available seats, access to available seats will be prioritized, as follows.

1. All graduates of law schools located in Massachusetts who have met all requirements of S.J.C. Rule 3:01 and who are sitting for the bar exam for a first time or a second time will be provided a seat for the exam, regardless of the date of the filing of the Petition for Admission to the Massachusetts bar.

2. Graduates of ABA-approved law schools located outside of Massachusetts who have met all requirements of S.J.C. Rule 3:01 and who are sitting for a UBE for the first time will be given first priority to available exam seats after all applicants eligible under paragraph one above have been seated, based on the date of the filing of the Petition for Admission to the Massachusetts bar.

3. Graduates of ABA-approved law schools in 2018, 2019, or 2020 who have met all requirements of S.J.C. Rule 3:01 and who are not eligible under paragraph one or two above, will be given second priority to available exam seats after all applicants eligible under paragraph one and two above have been seated, based on the date of the filing of the Petition for Admission to the Massachusetts bar.

4. Once all applicants meeting the criteria in paragraphs one, two, and three above have been seated, remaining available seats will be assigned based on the date of the filing of the Petition for Admission to the Massachusetts bar.

In the event that limitations on large gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to interfere with the September 30-October 1, 2020 administration of the Massachusetts UBE, an alternative exam providing for Massachusetts admission only will be administered remotely without limitation on the number of examinees.

Massachusetts will continue to accept Petitions for Admission by Transfer of UBE Score from persons achieving a UBE score of 270 or higher from a UBE administration in another jurisdiction.

TaxProf Blog coverage of the July 2020 bar exam:

• The Bar Exam And The COVID-19 Pandemic: The Need For Immediate Action (Mar. 14, 2020)
• NCBE To Decide By May 5 Whether It Will Provide MBE For July Bar Examinations (Mar. 27, 2020)
• New York Postpones July Bar Exam To Fall; Students Demand Emergency Diploma Privilege To Practice Law (Mar. 28, 2020)
• Massachusetts Joins New York In Postponing July Bar Exam (Mar. 30, 2020)
• Connecticut Is Third State To Postpone July Bar Exam (Mar. 31, 2020)
• Hawaii Is Fourth State To Postpone July Bar Exam (Apr. 2, 2020)
• New Jersey Is Fifth State To Postpone July Bar Exam, First To Offer 2020 Law Grads Temporary License To Practice (Apr. 7, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: ABA, Arizona, California, Florida, Tennessee, Vermont (Apr. 8, 2020)
• Indiana Allows 2020 Law Grads To Serve As Graduate Legal Interns And Take February 2021 Bar Exam (Apr. 9, 2020)
• Utah To Let Grads Skip Bar Exam Due To COVID-19, But Only From Schools With 86%+ Bar Pass Rate; Grads Of Just 4 Of California's 21 Law Schools Would Qualify (Apr. 11, 2020)
• Licensing Lawyers In A Pandemic: Proving Competence (Apr. 12, 2020)
• Even In Time Of Crisis, Hold Fast To Bar Exam (Apr. 13, 2020)
• Bar Exam Federalism During The COVID-19 Pandemic (Apr. 14, 2020)
• State Bar Tells California Supreme Court: Delay Or Cancel July Bar Exam (Apr. 15, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: Maine, Rhode Island (Apr. 16, 2020)
• Letter From California State Bar To California Supreme Court On July Bar Exam (Apr. 17, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: Georgia, Tennessee, Virgin Islands (Apr. 18, 2020)
• Letter From California Deans To California Supreme Court On July Bar Exam (Apr. 18, 2020)
• More Law Prof Commentary On Utah's Bar Diploma Privilege Proposal (Apr. 20, 2020)
• NCBE Opposes States Granting Diploma Privileges To 2020 Law Grads Due To COVID-19 (Apr. 20, 2020)
• Horwitz: Law Graduates' Needs, Client Needs, And The Bar Exam (Apr. 20, 2020)
• WSJ: Law Students In ‘No Man’s Land’ As Coronavirus Delays Bar Exams (Apr. 20, 2020)
• Utah Supreme Court Issues Final Order Letting Grads Of Law Schools With Average 86+% Bar Pass Rate Skip Utah Bar Exam Due To COVID-19 (Apr. 22, 2020)
• Courts Should Look To Three Bar Exam Alternatives During Crisis (Apr. 24, 2020)
• July 2020 Bar Exam Status By Jurisdiction (Apr. 26, 2020)
• California Supreme Court Orders July Bar Exam Delayed To Sept. 9-10, Administered Online (Apr. 28, 2020)
• Texas Moves Forward With July Bar Exam, Adds September Option And Expands Practice With Supervision Program (Apr. 30, 2020)
• New York Will Give Priority To Graduates From New York's 15 Law Schools For Limited Spots To Take September Bar Exam (May 1, 2020)
• Deans Ask New York To Not Discriminate Against Graduates Of Out-Of-State Law Schools In Sitting For September Bar Exam (May 3, 2020)
• July 2020 Bar Exam Status By Jurisdiction (May 3, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri (May 4, 2020)
• Dean Amar: New York's Discrimination Against Graduates Of Out-Of-State Law Schools Is Unconstitutional — 'Whether It’s Toilet Paper Or Bar Exam Seats, Hoarding Is Wrong' (May 4, 2020)

For complete TaxProf Blog coverage of the coronavirus, see here.