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

Tue Jun 23 13:27:50 PDT 2020

I believe the bar exam waiver for this year was only for ABA graduates only. All the Rule 6 law clerks, non ABA graduates and foreign LLM still have to take the exam.

Why is one group better than the other? I don’t know.

I was a Rule 6 Law Clerk, I passed the winter 2012 bar exam, the pass rate was 51%. Many attorneys said, geez your exam must have been horrible, I think most attorneys will say they are all horrible or a war story about the exam. I wanted to take the exam, it makes you a better attorney. The exam should not be exempt to any graduates regardless of where he/she went to school.

I was a real estate broker, the economy was failing in 2007, I didn’t have the means to go to law school and sustain all the bills.  I enrolled in the Rule 6 program. I defiantly had a lot of hands on experience working with a practicing attorney.

I studied for a least 6 months for the exam, I took the bar bri course, 2 times and countless exams from previous bar exams. The exam teaches you discipline, issues identification and ethics. Memorization was key and breaking down subjects to really attack the  essays.

Do the law schools teach ethics? I don’t know.

These students that diploma through are at a disadvantage, because not only is it good to know the laws, issues, dealing with clients, but Ethics are a priority every day in practice.

Thank you,

Justin Monro
Attorney at Law

From: wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of John McLaughlin
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 12:55 PM
To: WSBA Real Property Listserv <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: Re: [WSBARP] Supreme Court Grants Diploma privilege to LLTs andABA accredited law school grads

Greg:

If we want to submit comments to whom should we direct these to?  Thanks

John McLaughlin

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From: wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> <wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com>> on behalf of Joshua McKarcher <josh at mckarcherlaw.com<mailto:josh at mckarcherlaw.com>>
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 10:47:10 AM
To: WSBA Real Property Listserv <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>>; WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>>
Subject: Re: [WSBARP] Supreme Court Grants Diploma privilege to LLTs andABA accredited law school grads

I agree. Perhaps the most disturbing part of this situation is the utter lack of process the Court apparently chose to pursue. They are not subject to something like the federal APA, I realize, but we are still in a state that respects the rule of law, proper processes, reasoned decision making, and thoughtful contemplation of dramatic changes to long-standing rules and norms.

In my view, their decision is wrong at minimum because of the apparently permanent nature of the admission to practice; and the (again apparently permanent) application to re-takers (truly just a shocking “wave of the wand” by a court entrusted to safeguard the public in its management of a very powerful profession).

But even if their decision were right on the substance (or eventually is determined to be right on the substance), the utter lack of process, adversarial presentation, notice and comment — anything — is just plain shocking. If they indeed received a letter from law school professors on June 10 and drafted and issued an order on June 12 that is so fundamentally “disruptive of the norm,” then they violated the spirit of their inherent authority to manage the bar, if not the literal law applicable to their authority to manage the bar.

To me, this order goes far beyond any other orders or oversight they have provided to the recently tumultuous WSBA. I have not reacted at all to any of those orders or oversight efforts. To this one, I reacted with shocked disbelief. We few who did cannot be alone, and we cannot just be discounted as blind adherents to the way things have always been.

Best regards, Josh

Joshua D. McKarcher
McKarcher Law PLLC
537 6th Street
Clarkston, WA 99403
(509) 758-3345
(509) 758-3314 (fax)
josh at mckarcherlaw.com<mailto:josh at mckarcherlaw.com>
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From: wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> <wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com>> on behalf of Josh Grant <jgrant at accima.com<mailto:jgrant at accima.com>>
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 10:19 AM
To: WSBA Real Property Listserv
Subject: Re: [WSBARP] Supreme Court Grants Diploma privilege to LLTs andABA accredited law school grads

While an argument can be made that those who aren’t able to take the test under these special circumstances should get a license (and yes why not make it provisional?) I think it is very poor judgment to grant a license to someone who flunked the test!!  This doesn’t make sense to me.

Josh

Joshua F. Grant
[advocates]
P. O. Box 619
Wilbur, WA 99185
509 647 5578

From: Gregory L. Ursich
Sent: Monday, June 22, 2020 8:05 PM
To: WSBA Real Property Listserv
Cc: David J. Lawyer ; WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv
Subject: Re: [WSBARP] Supreme Court Grants Diploma privilege to LLTs andABA accredited law school grads

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

[cid:image002.jpg at 01D64961.84392040]

Gregory L. Ursich

Shareholder

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From: wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto: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<mailto:wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>>
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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<mailto: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<mailto: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
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<Order Granting Diploma Privilege (004) (002).pdf>

<Letter to WA Supreme Court 6-10-20.pdf>

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