Law Schools

Washington Grants Diploma Privilege To Graduates Of ABA Accredited Schools

Thinking outside the box is a virtue.

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As bar examiners around the country scramble to draft liability waivers for COVID exposure that have almost no chance of holding up in court, the state of Washington has surveyed the landscape and opted to embrace rationality instead. The state will offer an emergency diploma privilege admission for those signed up for the July bar exam.

The policy extends to graduates of ABA-accredited law schools, with those who don’t meet that meager hurdle and those who are really banking on a portable score eligible to take the UBE at a later date.

This is, of course, the best of all possible results. Not only does it afford those looking to practice in the state immediate access to earning their livelihood, but it cuts down on the space required for the September administration of the UBE. With everyone content to practice in Washington already admitted, the UBE administration will be able to socially distance examinees even more without having to resort to booking more costly venues.

It makes so much sense that it’s disturbing how few states have embraced this solution yet. While some of us would like a permanent diploma privilege plus system that would go hand-in-hand with an aggressive overhaul of the accreditation process to make costly law school diplomas true guarantees of subject matter competence and access to the profession, the present crisis doesn’t require going all the way there. States just need to be willing to say, “we’re writing off 2020 because the freaking plague is back” and start fresh planning the 2021 bar exam.

One byproduct of the COVID crisis will be a sobering look at which state professions are governed by folks with some kind of vision and which are run by mere functionaries who just “square peg, round hole” their existing in-person bar exams because that’s all they’ve ever imagined. That the latter seem to be carrying the day should be upsetting to anyone who cares about the future of the profession.

Here’s the full order, below.

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Earlier: First State Opts For Emergency Diploma Privilege Plus Admission
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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