Bittersweet Graduation
Most attorneys know the milestone of graduating from law school. The end of a long era. Some take a few weeks for a breather or even get married, while others are anxious and jump head first into studying for the long-anticipated bar exam. Law school graduation is a momentous day, full of young hopefuls brightly clad in expensive (rented) regalia. These events are often headlined by presidents, diplomats, celebrities, authors, and other notable individuals.
However, reality quickly sinks in that the bar exam is only a couple of months out. Graduation becomes bittersweet and thoughts of the long hours of intense study permeate the minds of future lawyers.
What in the World is Diploma Privilege?
There are slight variations among the state bars in how the bar exam is administered and what requirements apply. On June 12, 2020, the Washington Supreme Court reversed, or supplemented, its May 13 letter to proceed with the exam and issued an Order acknowledging the extraordinary barriers registered examinees are facing due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: “Order Granting Diploma Privilege and Temporarily Modifying Admission & Practice Rules, No. 25700-B-630.”
Washington’s Admission and Practice Rules (APR) 3 and 4 were modified to permit applicants registered for the July/September 2020 bar exams, who have received a diploma from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school, to either opt out of the exam or take it. In essence, this limited accommodation, called the Diploma Privilege, allows certain law graduates to skip the bar exam.
These graduates must have applied for the exam, graduated from law school, and be currently registered for the Washington Uniform Bar Exam (UBE). It is important to note that this doesnot happen automatically. Applicants are still permitted to take the bar exam (including applicants whopreviously failed) or take the diploma privilege, but not both.
Pros and Cons of the Diploma Privilege
At first sight, it seems as if these applicants hit the jackpot for this rare event in Washington. However, as with many temporary relief efforts, the devil is in the details. New lawyers must still meet other requirements such as ethics exams and Continuing Legal Education. The pros and cons below shed more light on the factors to consider:
PROS
- Taking the Diploma Privilege may be the answer for those studying during these difficult times. Bar exam classes are expensive, work may be affected, and stress related to exam days may be heightened.
- An examinee usually processes all of the possible things that could go wrong. Add additional barriers to that and this rule may make a lot of sense.
- What accommodations are reasonable for the exam: masks, sanitizer, or private study rooms? Are there other health risks associated with showing up to the exam?
- Is access to online study material universal for current examinees?
- There is not a lot of time between the Order and the date of the exam. It must be questioned whether this creates added stress.
- Either you study, take the exam, and fail or you avoid the whole ordeal and take the privilege.
CONS
- Consider the alternative. Would a new lawyer who was afforded a get-out-of-exam free card be viewed the same in the profession? In reality, other than professors, not a lot of lawyers talk aboutthe exam years later.
- Some graduates reported that their employers still desired that they take the bar exam, while others were fine with the diploma privilege option. Is that a fair condition to employment? Do you want to question that decision with a future employer? Probably! (if an employer doesn’t listen now, what is your future going to look like with them?)
- Other factors to consider are the fees, preparation, and anticipation. Is that now wasted?
- There weren’t any major disruptions in your current study plan.
- Is the debate over implementing the privilege a larger disruption?
- Is it fair to past and future examinees?
The Washington Court’s Order does delegate to the WSBA to determine to what extent registration fees may be refunded (to be answered at a later date according to the current FAQ section); however, bar exam courses aren’t cheap and have already been paid for. Despite all of these circumstances, attorneys rarely, if ever, consider force-majeure-like caveats going into effect in such a short time frame for the bar exam.
The Order was issued June 12, the Washington UBE is July 28-29 and September 9-10. It seems inevitable that the show must go on when it comes to the bar exam–in the middle of a snowstorm, at the heart of a volcano, or during a pandemic. The Court seemingly says, “The choice is yours.”
The Future of Diploma Privilege
The deadline to accept this option ended on June 17, 2020. However, applicants who indicated they want to take the bar exam, may change their selection to diploma privilege any time prior to the date of the exam for which they are registered. While this leaves examinees with the ultimate decision to take the option or just push forward to the exam, it is a reminder that this privilege will certainly remain open for debate. As with all legal precedents, states will be required to determine what circumstances warrant this type of accommodation?
On April 21, 2020, Utah became the first state to approve such a privilege, requiring applicants to complete 360 hours of supervised legal practice before the end of 2020. Wisconsin has admitted law graduates from in-state schools under a diploma privilege since March 15, 1870. General Laws Ch 79, 1870 https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/1870/related/acts/79.pdf.
Throughout history, renowned American figures studied in extended clerkships, apprenticeships, and independent study in lieu of a bar exam. This is only the beginning of a longer conversation. In addition to the Diploma Privilege option, the Washington Supreme Court temporarily reduced the minimum UBE passing score from 270 to 266 until the February 2021 exam.
For more information, see the Washington State Bar Association’s updated timeline here and FAQ section. The Court’s Order also applies to applicants that have completed all requirements to sit for the July exam for the Limited License Legal Technicians (LLLT) program, which will sunset this year.
Updated July 28, 2020
