Law Schools

State Adds 'Practice Waiver' To The Least Useful Stage Of Bar Admission Process

The purpose of a practice waiver is to help graduates who can't take the bar exam immediately. This got lost in translation.

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The point of “practice waivers” — policies that allow law school grads to engage in some limited range of practice while under the supervision of licensed attorneys — is to allow graduates to move forward with their career at a time when actually taking the bar exam is a tremendous challenge if not an impossibility. Usually these waivers come with a termination date, requiring the applicant to pass the bar exam within some limited time frame. The creditors on their student loans aren’t going to take a break, so they need to be able to get to work and start practicing.

Unlike some states pushing forward with dangerous exams on the strength of “absolve us if we end up killing you” waivers, Kentucky is taking safety seriously. Not seriously enough to cancel the July exam or explore online options, mind you, but seriously. The state has expanded the exam to include space at the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, and Northern Kentucky University, and agreed to offer a Fall administration as well to further space out examinees.

The state is also offering a practice waiver option, yet places it at the most curious juncture in the process:

In the meantime, please be aware that applicants may register to practice law immediately after taking the 2020 Bar, under attorney supervision, pursuant to Supreme Court Order 2020-37. The temporary rule allowing supervised practice of law pending admission will be in effect once the applicant has taken their respective 2020 Bar Examination.

Yes, after taking the bar.

It’s a nice gesture, but it’s unclear what exactly this accomplishes in terms of dealing with the pandemic. Allowing supervised practice immediately after taking the exam is actually a good policy in ordinary times. Assuming the state is confident in the judgment of its admitted attorneys, there’s little to no risk to the public in this move and it allows examinees to perform more work while waiting on grading. But it doesn’t seem to bring much to the table in these times. Graduates still have to brave two days in an enclosed space with strangers in order to get this waiver that allows them to perform… slightly more tasks than non-lawyers already can perform under the supervision of an attorney.

Ostensibly this policy aids Fall examinees who can return to their jobs immediately after the exam without waiting until results come back. But that’s a fairly limited population, all things considered. It’s as if the state heard about practice waiver proposals and said, “let’s do that… ooh… but not that part” and then severed the part that makes it a viable strategy for advancing young careers through the pandemic.

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In any event, while we can criticize elements of the strategy, Kentucky’s at least trying to help examinees which is more than we can say for some states out there.

Earlier: Bar Exam Applicants Forced To Sign COVID Waiver In Case In-Person Exam Ends Up Killing Them

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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