[WSBARP] Supreme Court Grants Diploma privilege to LLTs and ABA accredited law school grads

Mon Jun 22 20:57:46 PDT 2020

Gregory,

I for one, would be willing to sign your letter.  I would also be willing
to offer up my personal experiences and opinion on this matter, should  you
be interested.

Laurel Brown

On Mon, Jun 22, 2020 at 8:09 PM Gregory L. Ursich <gursich at insleebest.com>
wrote:

> List serve colleagues:
>
> I, for one, plan to write to the Supreme Court on this issue.  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 took the bar in 1989, the pass rate was only 62%.  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.
>
>
>
> 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 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 by
> the Washington State boards that license dentists and pharmacists;
> similarly it should apply to lawyers.  I encourage each of you to write to
> the Supreme Court on this important issue for our profession.  –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>*
>
>
>
> This electronic mail transmission is privileged and confidential and is
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>
>
>
> *From:* wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com [mailto:
> wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com] *On Behalf Of *Kaitlyn Jackson
> *Sent:* Saturday, June 20, 2020 11:13 AM
> *To:* WSBA Real Property Listserv <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>
> *Cc:* WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [WSBARP] Supreme Court Grants Diploma privilege to LLTs
> and ABA accredited law school grads
>
>
>
> Thanks, Michael.
>
>
>
> It also looks like Dean Clark set the stage to appeal to the Court to
> consider doing away with the bar exam altogether.
>
>
>
> Something to ruminate on, for sure.
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
>
> On Jun 19, 2020, at 7:44 PM, msafren at jennylinglaw.com wrote:
>
> 
>
> Hello Fellow Listservs and RPPT section members:
>
>
>
> Below please find an important message from Carla Higginson, WSBA Governor
> for District 2.
>
>
>
> “Colleagues,
>
>
>
> As you may recall, I am on the Board of Governors.  I am writing with
> regard to the Court’s recent decision to allow law school graduates to skip
> the bar exam this year.  Here is some background. The Board of Governors
> was approached at our April meeting by law students asking that graduates
> be allowed to practice without taking the bar exam due to the COVID-19
> situation.  The Board voted 12 to 1 not to do so and urged the Court to
> require that the exam be held.  The exam was scheduled to be held in
> several locations rather than one, and in both July and September, to
> minimize travel and associated virus risks by insuring that there was
> plenty of room in the exam rooms to follow social distancing requirements.
>  The Board felt that requiring applicants to take and pass the bar exam was
> important to protect the public and ensure qualified and competent
> attorneys.  The Court initially accepted this recommendation, but has now
> reversed itself, apparently in response to a letter from the Seattle
> University law school dean asking that their graduates be allowed to
> practice law without taking the bar exam this year.  This letter (copy
> attached) was sent directly to the Court and I did not know the request had
> been made until after the Court issued its decision (copy attached), so
> there was no opportunity to alert members to the request or obtain member
> comment.
>
>
>
> The Court’s decision allows candidates who have previously failed a bar
> exam or LLLT exam to automatically be granted diploma privileges to
> practice law as an attorney or LLLT.  However, people who have completed
> the law clerk (APR 6) program and are registered for the bar exam must
> still take it, and apparently, so do limited practice officer candidates.
>
>
>
> The pass rate statistics are as follows:
>
>
>
> For attorney applicants, the Winter 2020 bar exam resulted in
> approximately 49 percent passage rate, so slightly more than half of all
> attorney applicants failed.
>
>
>
> For LLLT applicants, the Winter 2020 exam was a 40% pass rate (4 passed
> out of 10).  The Summer 2019 exam was a 25% pass rate (1 passed out of 4).
> Over the last four LLLT exams, a total of 8 out of 24 passed.
>
>
>
> The Board of Governors is meeting on June 26th in virtual session and the
> Court’s decision to grant diploma privileges is on the agenda.  It will
> probably occur about 4 pm.  Unfortunately, there will not be more than
> about 45 minutes or so to discuss this very important topic, but I invite
> you to send letters to the Court:  supreme at courts.wa.gov with a copy to
> me, and I will make sure that your comments are provided to the entire
> Board.  If you wish to call in to the meeting, the number is  *1-888-788-0099
> or 1-877-853-5247 and the meeting ID is:  956 2364 5735. *
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Carla J. Higginson
>
> WSBA Governor, District 2”
>
>
>
>
>
> Warmest regards,
>
> *Michael S. Safren, Esq.*
> *Attorney at Law*
>
> 14900 Interurban Ave. S., Ste. 280 | Seattle, WA 98168
> 11900 NE 1st St., Bldg. G - Ste. 300 |  Bellevue, WA 98005
> P: (206) 859-5098 | E: msafren at jennylinglaw.com
> *www.jennylinglaw.com <http://www.jennylinglaw.com>* | *facebook.com/jennylinglaw/
> <http://www.facebook.com/jennylinglaw/>*
>
>
>
>
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>
>
> <Order Granting Diploma Privilege (004) (002).pdf>
>
> <Letter to WA Supreme Court 6-10-20.pdf>
>
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-- 
Laurel Brown
*Attorney and Counselor at Law*
*5071 SW Waite St.*
*Seattle, WA  98116*
*425-361-6286*
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