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

[Laurel Brown]

Mr. Ursich,

Excellent letter.  If you permit, I will expand slightly on my email on
this same subject, sign it and send it to you to include with your letter.
Also if you permit, I am still willing to add my signature to your letter.

Best,

Laurel

On Thu, Jun 25, 2020 at 7:32 PM Gregory L. Ursich <gursich at insleebest.com>
wrote:

> 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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-- 
Laurel Brown
*Attorney and Counselor at Law*
*5071 SW Waite St.*
*Seattle, WA  98116*
*425-361-6286*
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