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California Approves Temporary Law Licenses Which, With $3, Will Get You A Cup Of Coffee

Why do people think this helps?

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Staring down a potential nightmare of an online bar exam, the California Supreme Court rejected the idea of emergency diploma privilege for law school graduates in the state that took “having the most COVID cases in the country” and add being on goddamned fire to the mix. As far as the court’s concerned applicants are encouraged to rub some dirt on it and get back out there.

But not all is lost! Applicants were thrown a bone when the California State Bar’s Board of Trustees approved a provisional licensing plan.

Wow! That’s…

OK, it’s not totally worthless, but let’s consider the requirements for this new program.

Applicants for California’s provisional license program must be 2020 graduates of California law schools or of schools outside the state, if such graduates are permitted to sit for the bar exam under California law. There are no limits on the number of times an applicant may have taken and not passed the bar exam.

Participants must also be employed by, or have an offer from, an employer with an office located in California, and they also must agree to practice under a supervising lawyer who is an active licensee in good standing of the State Bar.

But folks are able to perform most tasks under the supervision of a licensed attorney now. So when you require them to be employed and agree to practice under a supervising lawyer you’ve really just formalized the status quo. These folks will have to refer to themselves as “provisionally licensed” in conversations with clients which is, I suppose, better than being titled a “Law Clerk” or “Paralegal” but other than appealing to vanity there’s not much to this.

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At least they’re considering offering this to those who got a 1390 in the past — which would qualify for passing today — even if they aren’t willing to apply the score retroactively like their system already contemplates.

Meanwhile, California is starting to come to grips that being a smoldering wasteland might impact the online exam:

Everyone who needs assistance should reach out to all the examiners to comprehend how big this problem truly is. If the bar sees just how destructive this all is maybe they’ll take action and… extend provisional licenses for an extra month or two.

California Bar OKs Temporary Law Licenses in Place of Bar Exam [Bloomberg Law]

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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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