New York Moves To The Uniform Bar Exam
Big changes ahead for NY bar exam takers....
Looks like New York is no longer a unique snowflake. After hinting that the shift was in the works, today New York state’s chief judge, Johnathan Lippman, announced that the state would stop administering a New York specific bar examination and begin using the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) next summer. The New York Court of Appeals approved the change to encourage a nationwide move to a single bar exam. As the New York Times reports:
While other states already use the so-called Uniform Bar Examination, Judge Lippman said in an interview that he expected the move by New York to result in a “domino effect” with the remaining states, given New York’s prominence in the legal world.
Missouri, in 2011, was the first to offer the uniform test, but the nation’s largest states — California, Texas and Florida — still run state-specific bar exams.
Though he now supports the move to the UBE, Judge Lippman’s initial response was in-line with the likely reaction of seasoned attorneys that see having passed the notoriously difficult NY as a badge of honor.
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“When I first started hearing about it, I think I had the natural reaction, which is, ‘Gee, but we’re New York,’” Judge Lippman said. “While I hope we’re not being parochial, we certainly have always viewed New York as the gold standard in terms of the profession of law.”
Judge Lippman now sees the flexibility provided by the UBE — as it becomes used in a growing number of states — as a distinct benefit:
“We recognize it’s a global world and there has to be portability with the law license around the country,” Judge Lippman said in an interview. “We think we would be sticking our heads in the sand if we don’t realize the practice of law doesn’t stop at state lines.”
New York lawyers will still have to demonstrate some knowledge of New York law. In addition to passing the uniform exam, they’ll have to take an online course on New York law and pass a shorter multiple-choice exam.
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As ATL has reported earlier, New York’s change to the UBE could well be the harbinger for widespread legal changes.
While New York’s implementation of the UBE could likely cause a large increase in the number of jurisdictions administering the UBE, the ripple effects may not end there. Such a dramatic change to the bar exam on a national level could result in changes in law school demographics, changes geographically to the legal job markets across the country, and place a strain on the court systems of popular jurisdictions.
Now we’ll just have to wait to see what predictions come true.
New York State to Adopt Uniform Bar Exam [New York Times]
Earlier: Ask The Professor: Will New York Change The Face Of The Bar Exam?
Ask The Professor: Will New York Change The Face Of The Bar Exam? Redux