◼ POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek August 3, 202033ILLUSTRATION
BY
NICHOLE
SHINN
THEBOTTOMLINE Asmanystatesproceedwithholdingthebar
examin-person,lawschoolgraduatesareworriedaboutCovid-19—
andsomewanttoendtheprimacyofthetestaltogether.calloutdated—andspurreda pushforalternatives.
Statelicensingagenciesaretryingtostrikea
balancebetweenensuringthatnewlylicensedlaw-
yersareatleastminimallycompetentandtaking
precautionstoprotecttest-takersamidthisyear’s
unprecedentedpublic-healthconcerns.They’ve
adoptedsafetymeasuressuchascheckingtem-
peraturesandincreasingthedistancebetween
test-takers. Manyadministrators believethat
in-persontests,witheveryoneinthesameroom
atthesametime,arethemostsecureandreduce
thechancesofcheating.
Butcriticssaybarexamauthoritieswerewoe-
fullyunpreparedforthepandemic.“Therearea
numberofwordsI woulduse,andnoneofthem
arekind,”saysDonnaSaadati-Soto,a HarvardLaw
Schoolgradwho’samongthoseleadingthepush
for“diplomaprivilege,”anoptiontolicenselaw
schoolgradsthatwouldn’trequirethemtotake
andpassthebar.“Inept.Incompetent.Careless.
Reckless.Youknow,they’renottheoneswhose
liveswillbeputatrisk”bytakingin-personexams,
shesays.Saadati-SotoplanstotakeCalifornia’s
onlineexaminOctober.
Theoptionofdiplomaprivilege,longallowed
inWisconsin,hasalsobeenadoptedinOregon,
Utah,Washington,andmostrecentlyLouisiana.
Privilegeadvocatessaythebarexamis outmoded
andisn’ta fairtestoflegalcompetencyanyway,
withanemphasisonarcaneknowledge.They
arguethatthetestprocess,whichoftenrequires
weeksofpreparationtopass,inherentlydiscrimi-
natesagainstpoorercandidateswhocannotafford
totakeexpensiveprepcoursesortoputoffearn-
ingincomefora longperiod.Theseproblemsaffect
candidatesofcolordisproportionately,theysay.
Aaron Taylor, executive director of the
AccessLexCenterforLegalEducationExcellence
inWashington,D.C.,a nonprofitthatworksto
improveaccesstolawschool,says“chaotic”might
bethewordbestusedtodescribehowbarexams
arebeingadministeredthisyear.“ButI’mlook-
ingatthismaybeasfavorablechaos,”hesays,
thinkingthatit mightspurstatestoreconsiderhow,
orevenif,barexamsshouldbeadministered.
Manysupportersoftheexamagreethetest
couldbemademorerelevanttopractice.Butthey
arguethatit’sa necessarygaugeofanattorney’s
skillsetandthatwithoutit industrystandards
wouldsuffer,hurtingclientsandthepublic.
If states aren’t going to scrap the exam
altogether, privilege proponents argue, they
should at least cancel in-person tests. Thirteen
states plan to hold an in-person exam in September
or October; at least 22 states are planning onlineexams from August through October; some states
are offering multiple dates and modes of testing.
Officialsinarguablythemostimportant“Big
Law”state, NewYork,rejected thediploma
privilegeidea—atleastfor2020—butmovedthe
testonline(ona one-timebasis,tobeheldon
Oct.5 and6).A workinggroupconvenedbyChief
JudgeJanetDiFioreacknowledgedthe“short-
comings” of a remote exam, according to the New
York Court of Appeals, and consulted with secu-
rityandotherexpertstofind“proactivemeasures
toensurebroadaccess,mitigatesecurityrisks,
andestablish a reliable grading methodology.”Smallerstateshavestruggledwith different
issues.WestVirginia,whichexpectedfewerthan
175 exam-takers for its two-day test at the Charleston
Coliseum & Convention Center, hasn’t asked appli-
cants to sign waivers. But its policy on masks caused
other concerns. Although test-takers were asked to
bring them—and wear them if possible—they were
also told they didn’t need to wear them if it inter-
fered with their ability to take the test, says West
Virginia Judiciary spokeswoman Jennifer Bundy. The
hall used is large enough to allow for extra distance
between test-takers, she says.
For Prybol in North Carolina, hope for change—
including perhaps allowing for an online test in
addition to the in-person exam there, or a diploma
privilege option—now hangs with the state legisla-
ture. She says several legislators have expressed
sympathy with test-takers’ plights and may be pre-
pared to act. “We’re hopeful,” Prybol says, “but we
know there are no promises.” �Sam Skolnik● States that held
in-person bar exams in
the last week of July23