Many lawyers find managing Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) stressful due to the risk of overdrafts, which accounted for 4% of grievances according to the 2024 Washington Discipline System Annual Report. The latest edition of Washington State Bar News discusses compliance challenges, legislative updates, and initiatives by retired judges for justice.
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The Washington Supreme Court has approved a new bar exam format and concept recommendations for additional pathways to attorney licensure, following 50 years of debate. The exam has historically disadvantaged marginalized groups. The latest issue of Washington State Bar News outlines the changes and features important legal topics, including risk management considerations for lawyers.
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Few academic milestones have achieved the same level of deserved notoriety as the bar exam. If graduating law school is a difficult achievement, passing the bar exam is a veritable stress caldron—one that distinguishes a licensed lawyer from a well-educated (and debt-riddled) law school grad.
“When it comes to assessing lawyer competence, we saw again and again and again in our research conclusive evidence that the existing bar exam is far from a foolproof or even reliable measure of competence; and, to the detriment of both candidates and the profession, it replicates and perpetuates bias,” Seattle University School of Law Dean Anthony E. Varona says in the latest issue of Washington State Bar News.
For the first time in its history, the WSBA will administer the bar exam remotely. On Dec. 3, the Washington Supreme Court issued an order authorizing the WSBA “to conduct the February 2021 administration of legal licensing examinations for admission using remote testing software,” citing the “extraordinary barriers” created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.On Dec. 3, the Washington Supreme Court issued an order authorizing the WSBA “to conduct the February 2021 administration of legal licensing examinations for admission using remote testing software,” citing the “extraordinary barriers” created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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When the Washington Supreme Court modified the Admission to Practice Rules to grant admission under diploma privilege criteria, it spurred a great deal of discussion about the bar exam. Some of this discussion appears to assume the Supreme Court order is permanent. This does not appear to be the intent of the order. Many attorneys have complained about granting admission to practice law to individuals who have not taken the bar exam, essentially arguing the exam is a “rite of passage.” While I understand the sentiment, I reject its validity.
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Let me be abundantly clear: In my hiring decisions I will never ever care whether someone took the bar exam. The best data available, through comparative tests, malpractice suits, and ethics complaints, indicates that passing the bar exam has zero correlation with being a good lawyer. But that doesn’t mean I won’t ask if interviewees took the exam.
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For countless law students, the ongoing Coronavirus crisis has halted their young careers before they’ve even begun.
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Get a few essential tips to improve your license renewal experience and to help you avoid any last-minute issues.
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Are you a lawyer and want to help update and improve the bar exam? Then take about 20 minutes to respond to the Practice Analysis Survey.
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Cheating attempts during the bar exam in Washington are rare, but still mean that everyone has to abide by a strict list of prohibited items and rules. Here’s what you need to know.
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It’s one of the most notorious trials in academia: the bar exam. A two-day marathon of three tests in one—six questions for the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), two Multistate Performance Tests (MPT), and 200 multiple choice questions on the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)—it is the quintessential assessment of legal knowledge necessary to practice law in […]
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There are few moments in life as pivotal as taking the bar exam. Being a lawyer is a dream, a life’s journey that has been incubating for years. But first you have to know the password to get in. So much hinges on this exam: mountains of debt; the expectations of friends and family; and, of […]
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For the first time in more than 30 years, the Washington Supreme Court issued an opinion on the character and fitness test for admission under the Admission and Practice Rules (APR). In re Simmons was an appeal from the WSBA Character and Fitness Board’s denial of Tarra Simmons’ application to sit for the bar exam. […]
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It’s June, which means that bar exam prep time has officially begun for tens of thousands of law school graduates. This year, the Washington State Bar Exam will be held on July 24–25. Examinees will cram into the Tacoma Convention Center for six hours each day while they summarize all the law and facts they’ve […]
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