[WSBAPT] Letter Re: Supreme Court Grants Diploma privilege to LLTs and ABA accredited law school grads, and No Bar Exam

Fri Jun 26 11:36:13 PDT 2020

I concur with Mr. Ursich’s letter, below.

I am persuaded by the ABA’s Basic Overview of Bar Admissions:

Licensing involves a demonstration of worthiness in two distinct areas. The
first is competence. For initial licensure, competence is ordinarily
established by a showing that the applicant holds an acceptable educational
credential (with some exceptions, a J.D. degree) from a law school that
meets educational standards, and by achieving a passing score on the bar
examination.  …

The second area of inquiry by bar examiners involves the character and
fitness of applicants for a law license. In this regard, bar examiners seek
background information concerning each applicant that is relevant to the
appropriateness of granting a professional credential. *Because law is a
public profession, and because the degree of harm a lawyer, once licensed,
can inflict is substantial, decisions about who should be admitted to
practice law are made carefully by bar examining boards. *[Highlight mine.]

Respectfully,

Marsha Hudson

*Marsha C. Hudson*
Attorney at Law #23330

3221 NW 62nd Street, Seattle, WA  98107

Telephone: 206-297-3933

Fax: 206-357-9356
marsha at griffyn.us

*Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for
others? -* Martin Luther King, Jr.

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*From:* wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com [mailto:
wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com] *On Behalf Of *Gregory L. Ursich
*Sent:* Thursday, June 25, 2020 7:29 PM
*To:* supreme at courts.wa.gov
*Cc:* WSBA Real Property Listserv <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>; ATTY <
atty at insleebest.com>; WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <
wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
*Subject:* [WSBAPT] Letter Re: Supreme Court Grants Diploma privilege to
LLTs and ABA accredited law school grads, and No Bar Exam
*Importance:* High

Dear Honorable Supreme Court Justices:

I write to you now regarding the Emergency Order entered by your Court on
June 12, 2020, that suddenly changes all the APR rules in Washington to
automatically admit to the practice of law all ABA graduate applicants and
previous test takers who had failed a previous bar exam in Washington and
who applied to take the Summer 2020 bar exam, scheduled for July and
September 2020.   This broad and sweeping decision to exempt all applicants
for the summer 2020 bar exams to never have to take the bar in Washington
is too broad.  First, bar applicants who previously failed the Washington
bar, no matter how many times, are now automatically admitted if signed up
for the Summer 2020 exams (July and September).  Second, the last bar exam
pass rate was only 49%.  When I personally took the bar in 1989, the pass
rate was only 62%.  I came from a middle class family and put myself
through college and law school after losing my father at age 11.  My father
was a retired Master Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy and my mother was
a Registered Nurse.  I still remember how hard it was to concentrate for
and study for the bar in my mother’s basement.  It is not an easy thing to
do, but I was proud of my accomplishment to pass the exam and to be
admitted to the Washington Bar at the young age of 24.  I certainly have
not followed bar passage rates in Washington, but I think they have varied
between about 45% to 75% over the last 30 years.  The exam is a competency
measure to protect the public and to ensure a certain level of competency
to practice law in Washington.  We are a profession with many technical
rules and requirements and the public deserves the protection the bar exam
provides.  Every day when we deal with researching the law, drafting briefs
and motions, meeting with our clients to provide legal advice, and
appearing in court we are tested with new experiences and fact patterns and
we draw on our expertise in the law gained from attendance in law school,
testing our competence on the bar exam, and experience gained during our
practice.  The bar exam is an important component of that as ensures a
minimum level of competency as a new lawyer to immediately  represent
clients in court and to take the responsibility for our clients’ personal
liberties, financial health, and family relationships.  The public deserves
to know they have a competent lawyer representing them, and the bar exam
provides a needed competency check for that.

A more balanced approach could be that the 2020 summer exam applicants are
admitted on a provisional basis and can practice law so long as they sit
for the bar exam by the summer of 2021.  Their admission to the bar would
remain valid until the results are announced for the summer 2021 exam in
the fall of 2021.  If they pass that exam their admission continues.  If
they fail the bar exam in either the winter of 2021 or summer 2021, then
their provisional admission ends until they take the exam again and pass.
This approach balances the effect of the Corona Virus Crisis on studying
for and passing the bar exam during the crisis and allows for gainful
employment in the interim.  This approach would also protect the public
because those who ultimately have a problem passing the exam will not be
admitted on a long term basis until they can show their basic competency to
practice law.

I understand that this approach of temporary licensing is being used right
now by the Washington State Boards that license dentists and pharmacists;
similarly it should apply to lawyers.   I for one would not want to have a
doctor, dentist or pharmacist take care of me in Washington without having
to take their boards.  I feel that this is an important issue for our
profession, and a more narrowly tailored approach to the current crisis is
warranted to protect the public and to ensure competency in our learned
profession.  Thanks for listening.   –Greg Ursich

*Gregory L. Ursich *

Shareholder

Skyline Tower, Suite 1500 | 10900 NE 4th Street | Bellevue, WA 98004

P: 425.450.4258 | F: 425.635.7720

*vCard <http://www.insleebest.com/uploads/vcards/gursich.vcf>* | *website
<http://www.insleebest.com/>* | *gursich at insleebest.com
<gursich at insleebest.com>*

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