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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="purple"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Dear Honorable Supreme Court Justices,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Like Mr. Ursich below, we all have our individual stories about law school, studying for and taking the bar exam and the great satisfaction of passing the exam to be sworn in as a young attorney back in 1973. Please do not demean all of us that have gone through this age old process successfully and are privileged to practice today serving clients across our State. It may not be the perfect process, but it is the one we have in place. COVID-19 has caused many to suffer in so many ways so very unfortunately, but it should not be the cause for failing to ensure the public some measure of performance they can rely upon in the already difficult process of choosing an attorney. We have all learned how to social distance, wear masks and work remotely. It should not be a great conundrum to develop a simple process in this day and age to administer the bar exam. And if the people sitting for the bar are not able to follow whatever safety measures and processes put in place to accommodate the testing, then they should not be admitted to the bar anyway.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Sincerely,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Tom</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Thomas J. Westbrook</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Attorney at Law</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1f497d"><img width="193" height="67" style="width:2.0083in;height:.7in" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D64BA6.20FF39A0"></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Rodgers Kee Card & Strophy, P.S.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">324 West Bay Drive NW, Suite 201</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Olympia, Washington 98502</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Phone: 360-352-8311</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Facsimile: 360-352-8501</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Email: </span><span style="color:#1f497d"><a href="mailto:tjw@buddbaylaw.com"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">tjw@buddbaylaw.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Skype: thomas.westbrook</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1f497d"><a href="http://www.buddbaylaw.com/" target="_BLANK????"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">www.buddbaylaw.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">The information contained in this email and attachment(s) are for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain private, privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the addressee, you are strictly prohibited from reading, photocopying, distributing or otherwise using this email or its contents in any way. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by telephone at 360-352-8311 or by e-mail to </span><span style="color:#1f497d"><a href="mailto:shannon@buddbaylaw.com"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">shannon@buddbaylaw.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">, and destroy the original message from your electronic files.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"> </span></p><div><div style="border:none;border-top:solid #e1e1e1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in"><p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> <a href="mailto:wsbarp-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com">wsbarp-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com</a> <<a href="mailto:wsbarp-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com">wsbarp-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com</a>> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Gregory L. Ursich<br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, June 25, 2020 7:29 PM<br><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:supreme@courts.wa.gov">supreme@courts.wa.gov</a><br><b>Cc:</b> WSBA Real Property Listserv <<a href="mailto:wsbarp@lists.wsbarppt.com">wsbarp@lists.wsbarppt.com</a>>; ATTY <<a href="mailto:atty@insleebest.com">atty@insleebest.com</a>>; WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <<a href="mailto:wsbapt@lists.wsbarppt.com">wsbapt@lists.wsbarppt.com</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> [WSBARP] Letter Re: Supreme Court Grants Diploma privilege to LLTs and ABA accredited law school grads, and No Bar Exam<br><b>Importance:</b> High</p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Dear Honorable Supreme Court Justices:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">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.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">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.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">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</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"> </span></p><div><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:collapse"><tr style="height:58.05pt"><td width="180" valign="top" style="width:135.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:58.05pt"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><img border="0" width="177" height="73" style="width:1.8416in;height:.7583in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D64BA3.689FE4B0"></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"></span></p></td><td width="443" valign="top" style="width:332.5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:58.05pt"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-5.75pt"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black">Gregory L. Ursich </span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-5.75pt"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black">Shareholder</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-5.75pt"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black">Skyline Tower, Suite 1500 | 10900 NE 4<sup>th</sup> Street | Bellevue, WA 98004</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-5.75pt"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black">P: 425.450.4258 | F: 425.635.7720</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-5.75pt"><u><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:blue"><a href="http://www.insleebest.com/uploads/vcards/gursich.vcf"><span style="color:blue">vCard</span></a></span></u><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black"> |</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:blue"> <u><a href="http://www.insleebest.com/"><span style="color:blue">website</span></a></u></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black"> |</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:blue"> <u><a href="mailto:gursich@insleebest.com"><span style="color:blue">gursich@insleebest.com</span></a></u></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"></span></p></td></tr></table><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">This electronic mail transmission is privileged and confidential and is intended only for the review of the party to whom it is addressed. If you have received this transmission in error, please immediately return it to the sender. Unintended transmission shall not constitute waiver of the attorney-client or any other privilege.</span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p></div></body></html>