Florida Bar Exam will be taken online in wake of concerns
“This is a really sound solution and creative approach given the uncertainty of the next several weeks.”
dean, University of Florida Levin
The Florida Board of Bar Examiners, with approval from the Florida Supreme Court, canceled the July inperson Florida Bar Examination and instead will administer an online test in August.
The exam will now take place Aug. 18., according to a Wednesday announcement from the Board of Bar Examiners. The announcement did not explicitly state why the change was made or discuss the health concerns raised by upcoming test-takers and legal professionals.
The exam was previously scheduled for July 28 and 29 at the Orange County Convention Center and Tampa Convention Center.
Recent law school graduates and legal professionals were concerned about the health risks of gathering thousands of test takers in a state where cases of COVID-19 are increasing by the thousands daily. Central Florida itself surpassed 25,000 cases as of Wednesday.
A widely-circulated petition, which had gathered more than 1,600 signatures as of Wednesday, urged the Board to consider alternatives. It recommended options such as offering the exam online or diploma privileges, a way for lawyers to be admitted to the bar without taking the bar exam that is offered to graduates in Washington and Utah.
The Florida Bar offices are closed as of mid-March, with certain staff working remotely. The association’s 2020 annual convention in June also went virtual due to the pandemic.
Michele A. Gavagni, executive director of the the
Laura Rosenbury,
College of Law
Florida Board of Bar Examiners, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
State Reps. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Anna Eskamani, both Orlando Democrats, prior to the decision to cancel the in-person test wrote an open letter expressing fear for the health and safety of test takers, their families and communities.
Smith was worried the Board would wait until the “11th hour” to make a change and leave test takers unprepared and confused. On Wednesday, he said he was glad the concerns had been heard.
“This is a tremendous decision,” he said.
Johnny Carver, a 24-year-old University of Miami School of Law Graduate, is immunocompromised and just had an invasive nerve surgery last week. He said he’s glad he doesn’t need to risk his health to take the next step in his legal career.
“I’m extremely Carver said.
Applicants will no longer be required to take the Multistate Bar Examination portion of the test in August, which Carver said is one of the main sections people study for.
He said everyone will have to shift gears and prepare for an online exam.
He’s still a supporter of granting diploma privileges but is ultimately glad about relieved,” the decision, so he and others can find a job in the near future and protect their health.
“The FBBE really stepped up today and did the right thing,” he said.
In April, deans from Florida’s 12 accredited law schools wrote an open letter to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners asking the test to be offered in September, among other recommendations, like offering to host the exam on-site at the law schools. This letter came after the schools switched to virtual learning.
Dean Laura Rosenbury at the University of Florida Levin College of Law is impressed by the decision and believes it makes sense in light of the pandemic.
“This is a really sound solution and creative approach given the uncertainty of the next several weeks,” Rosenbury said.
Zak Martinez, 28, who lives in Dallas, was concerned he’d be quarantined if he came to Florida in July. He said Wednesday he’s relieved he can stay at home and take the exam.
It’s would be hard to social distance in a place filled with people from all over who were exposed to countless others, Martinez said.
“It’s the most responsible decision they could have made,” he said.