New York Should Replace Discriminatory Bar Exam Plan With Emergency Licensure Open To All Law School Graduates

Following up on this morning's post, 54 More Deans Ask New York To Not Discriminate Against Graduates Of Out-Of-State Law Schools In Sitting For September Bar Exam:

Bloomberg Law op-ed:  New York’s Bar Exam Changes Are Misguided—Here’s a New Proposal, by Claudia Angelos (NYU), Eileen Kaufman (Touro), Deborah Jones Merritt (Ohio State) & Patricia E. Salkin (Touro):

Jurisdictions around the country are struggling to offer the bar exam during the Covid-19 pandemic. The difficulties are particularly acute in New York, which hosts about 10,000 bar takers each July, has been hit hard by the pandemic, and faces an increasingly desperate need for legal services throughout the state. ...

The New York Court of Appeals moved quickly to acknowledge the public health realities, postponing the July exam until September and announcing plans for a distinguished working group to explore contingency plans if that exam, too, needs to be canceled or postponed.

But the court has issued a plan for the September exam that is misguided: the plan confirms that there will be insufficient seats for all candidates wishing to take the exam; prioritizes graduates of New York law schools for claiming seats; and encourages graduates to take the exam in other states.

The announcement makes clear that New York needs to find another means for licensing new lawyers. The court should be facilitating, not obstructing, entry to the profession at a time when clients desperately need legal help and new lawyers are eager and ready to work.

We write here to propose what New York should do, as a practical, policy, and constitutional matter, in order to maintain entry to the profession.

New York should adopt an emergency path to licensure, available to any JD or LLM graduate of an ABA-accredited law school who has not previously failed a bar exam in any U.S. jurisdiction. Those candidates could be licensed after satisfying four requirements that, taken together, would ensure entry level competency in New York law and practice:

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)
• July Bar Exam Update: DC, Maine, Massachusetts (May 5, 2020)
• CLEA Statement On The July 2020 Bar Examination (May 6, 2020)
• 54 More Deans Ask New York To Not Discriminate Against Graduates Of Out-Of-State Law Schools In Sitting For September Bar Exam (May 7, 2020)

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