Update on the July 2020 Bar Exam
April 25, 2020
The Maine July 2020 bar exam has been cancelled and rescheduled to September 30 and October 1. The new deadline to submit applications is July 17, 2020.
April 13, 2020
Rhode Island has just cancelled the July 2020 bar exam. The May 1, 2020 application deadline has been suspended while the Court considers the impact of the public health crisis on the bar admission process. The Court expects to issue an order on this matter soon.
Please find the following information relative to the July 2020 bar exam. You can find updates about other jurisdictions on the NCBE’s website.
Bar Exam Postponements
The following jurisdictions have cancelled the July 2020 bar exam and have postponed to the fall. Please find each jurisdiction with their corresponding announcement for more information.
- District of Columbia – The July 2020 bar exam has been cancelled. The Court will make an announcement regarding the feasibility of a fall exam by May 4, 2020. If it determines that an exam is possible in the fall, it will promptly announced the dates. The court is currently exploring interim measures, including expanding their rules to allow law school graduates seeking bar admission in D.C. to practice there on a temporary basis. All applicants should check the Committee on Admissions on May 4, 2020 for updates.
- New Hampshire – The July exam is postponed to fall 2020 on dates to be determined. As soon as practicable, the Office of Bar Admissions will provide information concerning the dates of a rescheduled exam, any changes to the application deadline, and any related matters. Please check the New Hampshire state court website for updates.
- Vermont – The July bar exam has been postponed and is rescheduled for September 9 and 10, 2020 at the Hilton Burlington. The application deadline for the exam remains May 1, 2020. Please find their order here.
- Alaska – The Alaska Bar Association announced that the July bar exam has been postponed and will be held on September 9 and 10, 2020. Please find their announcement here.
Bar Exam Updates
- Arizona – The Arizona Supreme Court issued an order authorizing emergency adoption of court rule changes allowing law school students and recent graduates the limited ability to practice law in Arizona under the supervision of an attorney licensed in Arizona. As of now, the bar exam is still scheduled for July 28-29.
- New York – New York posted a new update regarding the availability of their scheduled September 9 and 10 bar exam. The board released a statement indicating they expect they will not be able to use the large venues that it typically uses to administer the July exam, and that the board will not be able to test all of the candidates who would typically apply to a July exam. The board further announced that it will be required to prioritize groups of candidates and expects to announce a staggered schedule for and necessary limitations on applications. Law schools across the country have requested clarification from New York on this issue and the impact it could have on our students. We expect to obtain some more information in the week to come about this update.
April 7, 2020
Massachusetts has posted the following updates:
- Petitions for Admission by Examination for the September 2020 bar exam will be made available on or about June 1, 2020 with a filing deadline of July 17, 2020.
- The MA Board of Bar Examiners office intends to initiate its new e-filing portal for Petitions by Admission by Examination in conjunction with the new filing period starting on or about June 1, 2020.
- Petitions for Admission for the fall 2020 examination will not require wet signatures for attorney recommendations or letters of recommendation. Photocopies and copies of electronic signatures will be accepted. The electronic signature can take the form of either a self-scan of the individual’s handwritten signature, an electronically inserted image intended to substitute for a signature, or a “/s/name of signatory” block.
You can find the release of updates here.
The Vermont Supreme Court ordered that the July 2020 administration of the UBE in Vermont is postponed to a later date in the fall. That date has not been determined yet. The date will be announced when it is finalized. Remember that the NCBE gave jurisdictions the choice of September 9-10 or September 30-October 1. When Vermont announces a date and a new application deadline, I will notify you.
Please find the press release here.
April 6, 2020
The New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners have announced today that they are postponing the July bar exam to the fall. The exact dates of the exam have not been determined yet and will be announced at a later date.
However, please note that New Jersey has enacted temporary diploma privilege. Under this order, 2020 law school graduates of ABA accredited law schools can temporarily practice law under the supervision of attorneys in good standing who have been licensed for a minimum of three years. In order to be eligible for this, graduates must apply to take the first exam scheduled after graduation (fall 2020) and they must earn a certification from the Supreme Court Committee on Character before they can practice law.
The New York Board of Law Examiners have rescheduled the July bar exam to Wednesday, September 9, and Thursday September 10, 2020. The application period for the rescheduled exam is presently scheduled to open on May 5 at 12:00 AM and to close on May 30 at 11:59 PM.
The Massachusetts bar exam has been rescheduled and will be held on Wednesday, September 30 and Thursday, October 1, 2020 in Boston. In the event that limitations on large gathering continue to interfere with the administration of the bar exam on those dates, alternative means for testing of applications for Massachusetts bar admission will be devised and announced. As of now, the Massachusetts bar application will reopen 75 days prior to the September 30 date.
Please find the press release here.
April 3, 2020
The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) has released the fall bar exam administration dates. In addition to a potential July exam, the NCBE will have TWO fall bar exam administrations on the following dates:
- September 9-10; and
- September 30-October 1.
Each jurisdiction will determine whether to offer the exam in July, in early September, or in late September. You can find the NCBE’s update here.
March 31, 2020
The Connecticut Bar Examining Committee announced today that, due to the public health emergency, the Connecticut bar exam will not be administered on July 28 and 29. The exam will be postponed to the fall, on dates to be determined.
The committee will suspend acceptance of applications after March 31, 200, and will announce at a later date the rescheduled dates for the examination and for an extended application filing period.
Please find the announcement here: https://www.jud.ct.gov/CBEC/.
March 30, 2020
The New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners have extended their application deadline to April 30, 2020. No late fees will apply to an application filed before that date. There is no postponement of the New Jersey bar exam at this time, but the board will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates. I will of course provide those updates as they come in.
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and the Board of Bar Examiners announced this morning that due to the ongoing public health emergency, the Massachusetts bar exam will not be administered on July 28 and 29. The Massachusetts bar exam is now postponed until fall, on dates to be determined.
March 27, 2020
The New York July bar exam will not be administered on July 28-29, 2020, as previously scheduled. Instead, it will be held in the fall. The New York Board of Law Examiners will announce the new date for the exam and new dates for the application filing period as soon as it becomes available.
Dear All:
The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) released a new update about the July 2020 bar exam. Note that the NCBE is still in the early stages of this process, and much is still unknown at this time.
The NCBE has decided that each jurisdiction will make its own decision about whether it is able to administer the July bar exam, based on factors such as office closures, state and local restrictions on gatherings and test venue availability.
NCBE is offering the following options to jurisdictions that administer the MBE, the MEE, and the MPT, including all UBE jurisdictions:
- NCBE will makes its decision about whether to deploy the MBE, the MEE, and the MPT for a July administration by May 5. This decision will be based on whether here would be a sufficient number of jurisdictions and examinees to support equating of scores and all the scoring support and grader training associated with the exam. This decision will depend on jurisdiction decisions about administration as well as the status on May 5 of federal, state, and local health orders for isolation/social distancing.
- Given the uncertainty about whether a July exam can take place, the NCBE is putting a plan in place now for an additional administration of the exam BEFORE the February 2021 exam. NCBE will offer another set of bar exam materials – MBE, MEE, and MPT – for administration in the fall. If there is a July exam, the fall exam materials will be a different set of questions. Scores earned in UBE jurisdictions in the fall administration would equally count as UBE scores. NCBE is working closely with jurisdictions to find a fall date that works for the most examinees and jurisdictions.
- Jurisdictions that cannot administer the exam in July, or cannot administer at normal seating capacity, will have the fall administration date as an alternative or additional option.
Although waiting until May 5 is not the answer many of you are looking for, by that time, each jurisdiction will be in a better position to determine whether the administration of a July bar exam is possible. Some jurisdictions may be in a better position than others to administer the exam, as some jurisdictions are more impacted by COVID-19 than others. Jurisdictions and NCBE are doing everything they can to come up with solutions that would allow you all to sit for a bar exam and become licensed. I will continue to monitor NCBE and jurisdictional updates as closely as possible, and I will continue to participate in discussions with NCBE and my colleagues on this issue.
Please be on the lookout for a meeting with the date and time for a specific third year town hall. In order to help me prepare for that meeting, I have made an anonymous survey where you can ask any questions you have about the bar exam. You also have the opportunity to go back into the survey and answer again if you think of more questions you have. Please find that survey here.
You are all likely experiencing many emotions: fear, sadness, disappointment, and confusion. You all may be overcome with a lot of feelings at this time. Please remember that with difficult and dark times comes a light that is to be seen. There’s light here: this specific news is not a cancellation of the exam, and is perhaps only a slight two month delay. No matter what happens, even if this news changes, you will be attorneys. There’s more light: you will graduate from law school, you will sit and take the bar exam, and you will be the tremendous attorneys I know you can be. Although it is easier said than done, take joy in what you do have. Because what’s coming is incredible for you, and it is coming.
As I said, please complete the survey to help me answer all of your questions. Please also let me know if I can be of any further help.
Stay positive,
Prof. Raposa