Dean Caron Signs Letter Requesting Massachusetts to Extend Bar Exam to Graduates of All Law Schools
Pepperdine Caruso Law Dean Paul L. Caron joined with the deans of 57 law schools in asking the state of Massachusetts to expand its testing capacity to allow graduates of out-of-state law schools to sit for the Massachusetts bar exam. The letter was written in response to the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners announcement that it will give first priority to the graduates of the eight law schools located in Massachusetts to take the exam that will be administered on September 30 to October 1. The law deans offer a number of proposals that could potentially open the exam to graduates of all law schools who plan to to take the Massachusetts bar exam.
Dean Caron recently joined in the signing of a similar letter to the New York Bar Examiners regarding its decision to limit the bar exam to in-state law school graduates.
Dean Caron signed the letter below with the deans of other non-Massachusetts law schools on behalf of graduates who plan to take the Massachusetts bar exam:
Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
John Adams Courthouse
1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500,
Boston, MA 02108Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners
John Adams Courthouse
One Pemberton Square, Suite 5-140
Boston, MA 02108Dear Chief Justice Gants and Mr. Harris,
We are deans of law schools across the country who have students who sit for the bar examination in your state each year. We write in response to the recent announcement of the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners:
"Should the number of applicants to sit for this administration of the Massachusetts UBE exceed the number of available seats, access to available seats will be prioritized, as follows.
1. All graduates of law schools located in Massachusetts who have met all requirements of S.J.C. Rule 3:01 and who are sitting for the bar exam for a first time or a second time will be provided a seat for the exam, regardless of the date of the filing of the Petition for Admission to the Massachusetts bar."
We recognize that this decision is framed against the need to protect public health in the midst of a pandemic that has brought devastating loss of life. And we are mindful of the very difficult decisions and trade-offs that all institutions, including your Court and your Board, must make at this time.
Still, as you can imagine, the news of your approach has fallen hard on the many students who had planned to sit for the bar in Massachusetts this summer or fall, a number of whom are Massachusetts residents and have already physically returned or relocated to Massachusetts during this pandemic. And we worry that the resulting delay in the exam's administration and admission to practice will fall hardest on the most economically vulnerable of our graduates and on those whose continued presence in the United States will be compromised by the delay.
We stand ready to help find solutions that could expand testing capacity in feasible ways. We write collectively to offer our support to put in place some combination of the following measures to mitigate the effect of your April 30 decision on graduates from out-of-state schools:
• Offering second dates for Massachusetts' administration of the UBE in the September 9-10 sitting that will be offered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners;
• Increasing seating for Massachusetts' September 30-October 1 administration of the UBE by adding new locations within Massachusetts;
• Creating seats for Massachusetts' administration of the UBE outside of Massachusetts, including, potentially, using some of our schools as possible venues;
• Working to develop an on-line bar exam, either in conjunction with the NCBE or as a freestanding Massachusetts exam.We stand ready to work as a group to help identify additional proctors and alternative locations, both inside and outside Massachusetts, and to facilitate any of these solutions.
We are grateful to you for considering these proposals, and we recognize the tremendous work you are doing to navigate an unprecedented public health crisis which has inflicted great loss on the world and on the people of Massachusetts. We would welcome discussion with members of your Court and with the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners about how we can help with any of these proposals.
With respect,
Kerry Abrams
James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean
Duke University School of LawRobert B. Ahdieh
Dean and Anthony G. Buzbee Endowed Dean's Chair
Texas A&M University School of LawJane H. Aiken
Dean
Wake Forest School of LawJessica Berg and Michael Scharf
Co-Deans
Case Western Reserve University School of LawRichard A. Bierschbach
Dean and Professor of Law
Wayne State University Law SchoolMary Anne Bobinski
Dean and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law
Emory University School of LawGregory W. Bowman
Dean-Designate
Roger Williams University School of LawMark E. Brandom
Dean and Thomas E. McMillian Professor of Law
The University of Alabama School of LawPaul L. Caron
Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean
Pepperdine Caruso School of LawMegan Carpenter
Dean and Professor of Law
Franklin Pierce School of Law
University of New HampshireErwin Chemerinsky
Dean & Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law
UC Berkeley School of LawG. Marcus Cole
The Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law
Notre Dame Law School
The University of Notre DameDarby Dickerson
Dean and Professor of Law
UIC John Marshall Law School
The University of Illinois at ChicagoAllison M. Dussias
Acting Dean and Professor of Law
New England Law|BostonAllen K. Easley
Dean and Professor of Law
Western State College of LawLyn Suzanne Entzeroth
Dean and Dean John Rogers Endowed Chair
The University of Tulsa College of LawDavid L. Faigman
Chancellor and Dean
University of California Hastings College of LawWard Farnsworth
Dean and John Jeffers Research Chair in Law
University of Texas School of LawStephen C. Ferruolo
Dean and Professor of Law
University of San Diego School of LawDaniel M. Filler
Dean and Professor of Law
Thomas R. Kline School of Law
Drexel UniversityTimothy Fisher
Dean and Professor of Law
University of Connecticut School of LawHeather K. Gerken
Dean and
Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law
Yale Law SchoolRisa L. Goluboff
Dean and Arnold H. Leon Professor of Law
University of Virginia School of LawChris Guthrie
Dean
Vanderbilt Law SchoolAndrew T. Guzman
Dean and Carl Mason Franklin Chair in Law
USC Gould School of Law
University of Southern CaliforniaJames Hackney
Dean and Professor of Law
Northeastern University School of LawBrant J. Hellwig
Dean
Washington and Lee University School of LawDanielle Holley-Walker
Dean and Professor of Law
Howard University School of LawMelanie B. Jacobs
Interim Dean and Professor of Law
Michigan State University College of LawGarry W. Jenkins
Dean and William S. Pattee Professor of Law
University of Minnesota Law SchoolChristian Johnson
Dean
Widener University Commonwealth Law SchoolMichael J. Kaufman
Dean of the School of Law and Vice Provost
Loyola University ChicagoGregory N. Mandel
Dean and Peter J. Liacouras Professor of Law
Beasley School of Law
Temple UniversityJohn Manning
Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and
Professor of Law
Harvard Law SchoolMark D. Martin
Dean and Professor
Regent University School of LawJenny S. Martinez
Dean and Richard E. Lang Professor of Law
Stanford Law SchoolDavid D. Meyer
Dean and Mitchell Franklin Professor Law
Tulane University Law SchoolThomas J. Miles
Dean and
Clifton R. Musser Professor of Law & Economics
The University of Chicago Law SchoolJennifer L. Mnookin
Dean and
Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Professor of Law
UCLA LawAngela Onwuachi-Willig
Dean and Professor of Law
Boston University School of LawHari M. Osofsky
Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law
Penn State Law
The Pennsylvania State UniversityAndrew Perlman
Dean and Professor of Law
Suffolk University Law SchoolChristopher J. Peters
Dean and C. Blake McDowell, Jr. Professor of Law
C. Blake McDowell Law Center
The University of Akron School of LawL. Song Richardson
Dean and Chancellor's Professor of Law
University of California, Irvine School of LawLaura Ann Rosenbury
Dean and
Levin, Mabie & Levin Professor of Law
Levin College of Law
University of FloridaVincent Rougeau
Dean and Professor
Boston College of LawThomas W. Ruger
Dean and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law SchoolBrad Saxton
Interim Dean and Professor of Law
Quinnipiac University School of LawSudha Setty
Dean and Professor of Law
Western New England University School of LawD. Gordon Smith
Dean and Woodruff J. Deem Professor of Law
BYU LawAviam Soifer
Dean
William S. Richardson School of Law
University of Hawai'iMichael E. Waterstone
Fritz B. Burns Dean
Loyola Law School
Loyola Marymount UniversityMark D. West
Dean and Nippon Life Professor of Law
University of Michigan Law SchoolVerna L. Williams
Dean and Nippert Professor of Law
University of Cincinnati College of LawMelanie D. Wilson
Dean and Lindsay Young Distinguished Professor
The University of Tennessee College of LawMichael J. Yelnosky
Dean and Professor of Law
Roger Williams University School of LawKimberly A. Yuracko
Dean and
Judd & Mary Morris Leighton Professor of Law
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law