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Bar Exam Outline How

Law Grads Get the Green Light for the September NY Bar Exam

NY Bar Exam COVID-19

The application process for the September NY Bar Exam has worried many out-of-state Law Grads who initially were excluded from registration. But on June 23rd, the Board of Law Examiners announced that every candidates will be assigned seats. Now a new rule that people coming in from eight other states seeing COVID-19 surges must quarantine for 14 days has opened new questions.
NY Bar Exam COVID-19

Students taking the 

NY Bar Exam COVID-19

The application process for the September bar exam is now complete.  All candidates who successfully completed an application to sit for the bar exam will be assigned seats, explains the New York State Board of Law Examiners, provided their proof of eligibility is timely submitted and demonstrates compliance with the requirements of Court of Appeals. The deadline to submit such proof has been extended until July 15, 2020. 

This come as a great new for the thousands of graduates from schools outside New York who were left wondering about their exam prospects when the board announced in late April that it likely would not be able to accommodate everyone and would give priority to graduates of in-state schools.

The final plan for the Bar Exam has not been released yet. Many candidates wonder how the current situation would affect the tenure of the exam and it has occupied the mind of the Chief Judge DiFiore, who has repeatedly stated that every effort would be made to seat as many candidates as possible. 

But as the country sees a surge of new coronavirus cases, New York State announced that people coming in from eight other states seeing COVID-19 surges must quarantine for 14 days. (New Jersey and Connecticut adopted similar mandatory quarantines.)

The quarantine states are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah & Washington.

If September is still far away, many bar takers took on the online forum Reddit to express their concerns. 

“So if this is the case come September, those of us taking NY/NJ/CT would just … sit in a hotel alone for two weeks ahead of the exam? Ridiculous,” wrote one poster.

In a typical year, about 10,000 people sit for the July New York bar exam, making it the largest bar exam jurisdiction in the country, explains the website law.com. Last year, graduates of New York law schools comprised 35% of July bar examinees, while graduates of out-of-state law schools comprised 30%.The remainder of examinees were foreign-trained lawyers.

It is unclear whether a lot of LL.M students have applied to take the September Bar Exam. Many graduates have returned to their home countries amid the pandemic and might be prevented from coming back on time.

For now, candidates will be notified regarding their seat assignments after the review of eligibility proofs has been completed. Such candidates are encouraged to complete the laptop registration with Examsoft by June 29, 2020 or they would be required to take the Exam by hand.

Earlier in April, the Court of Appeals announced preparing a contingency plan in case if the Bar Exam had to be postponed again. In the meantime, candidates have many questions and an answer is not near yet.

COVID-19 UPDATE The Board staff is unable to provide any information regarding seating for the bar exam other than what is posted on this website. If you are a candidate, please have your BOLE ID number available when you call. It is important that applicants regularly check this website for updated information.

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As outbreak curves climb in a number of U.S. states, New York reported its lowest single-day fatality toll since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Those are encouraging news but candidates should be reminded that the public health situation is still a concern and are encouraged to stay up to date on the latest news.

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