Profs, grads express concerns over July bar exam

Money, job prospects, getting sick, getting family members sick.

These are some of the concerns on recent law school graduates' minds as they prepare to take the July 2020 Oklahoma Bar Exam.

After working on a law degree for three years on top of however many years they spent on their higher education before that, graduates still have to pass the bar exam before they can become licensed attorneys.

The two-day, 14-hour exam is stressful and grueling under normal circumstances, but the COVID- 19 pandemic has given many exam takers additional anxieties, including the possibility of contracting the disease during what could be considered the most important test of their lives.

“My biggest concern is the pandemic,” said Josh Huckleberry, a 2020 graduate from the University of Oklahoma's School of Law. “I know that a lot of law graduates and JDs who have

worked their tails off to be where they are right now, to get to this position. I think that a lot of them, even if they're infected, are going to go. They're going to risk it because, financially, there's no reasonable alternative.”

The test is scheduled for July 28-29 at the Cox Convention Center, and Huckleberry said he can't afford to wait any longer to take the bar exam because he needs a job as soon as possible. Law school was expensive and all the fees to sit for the exam as well as paying for a hotel and travel are expensive, and his family needs money. But he's not happy with how it will take place because he feels like he will be putting his family at risk of contracting COVID-19.

The number of coronavirus cases in Oklahoma has been surging, with a record number of 858 new cases reported on Tuesday. With this in mind, having 300+ students in an enclosed space for hours at a time two days in a row seems ill advised to many, and several exam applicants, like Huckleberry, as well as professors from all three Oklahoma law schools have raised their concerns to the Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners.

The Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners (OKBBE) announced May 8 that the July 2020 Bar Exam would continue as scheduled, and they reaffirmed that decision in an email sent to exam applicants

on Monday. There will be safety measures in place, but there is no alternative to taking the in- person exam this year. The next exam date is in February.

As part of the safety precautions, test takers will have their temperatures checked each day, they will be required to wear masks and the tables will be spaced out to allow for proper social distancing. The board has also asked all exam takers to self- quarantine for two weeks before the exam.

Many bar applicants feel like it's not enough. Several states have offered alternatives to in- person bar exams, such as an online exam or additional test dates, and Oklahoma bar applicants are wondering why the board insists on holding Oklahoma's test in person.

“If Oklahoma doesn't change course, I don't feel safe coming to take the bar,” said Kaitlin Logan Wimmer. “Obviously I'm very nervous about being in a room with 300 other people. I can't do what I want to do until I pass that exam, and so the added anxiety of having to do that in a room with 300 other people in the middle of a pandemic is one thing, but coming from out of state, I have to get on a plane, and that's something I'm just not ready for.”

Wimmer went to law school in Nebraska and lives in Washington, D. C., but she signed up for Oklahoma's bar exam because she has always wanted to become licensed in Oklahoma. Wimmer decided to sign up for D. C.' s online bar exam as a backup plan because she doesn't feel comfortable traveling to Oklahoma to take the test in person, but she was hoping the board would offer an online option in light of the pandemic.

On June 30, the deans from the University of Tulsa's College of Law, the University of Oklahoma's College of Law and the Oklahoma City University School of Law signed a letter to the board suggesting options. Among their suggestions were holding in-person exams at multiple testing sites, such as at each law school, and waiving fees for a deferred examinations.

Ido Kilovaty, an assistant professor of law at the University of Tulsa, said the three best options he has seen other states take are online exams, apprenticeship programs and diploma privilege. An apprenticeship would have graduates work under the supervision of a licensed attorney and eventually receive their own licenses through that system. Diploma privilege would give Oklahoma law graduates provisional licenses that would become full licenses after a certain amount of time has passed if they have no complaints or misconducts.

One of Kilovaty's concerns is that the board hasn't been transparent about whether they have contingency plans in case they are forced to cancel the in- person exam, and he said an outright cancellation would be devastating to the bar applicants. Not only have they spent lots of money on bar prep materials and to sit for the bar, but they would have to go six more months without working in their field if they are forced to wait until the next exam date.

Grant Scowden said he is also worried he might get turned away at the door if he has a fever he didn't know he had. All the time and money he's spent would be wasted if that happens, and having alternative testing options could ensure that doesn't happen to anyone. Not knowing if the board has a backup plan has added to his stress and made it harder to study.

“That affects your mind state,” Scowden said. “It's hard to think of it as a goal that you're going toward if you realize that you might get disqualified right before the finish line.”

The Oklahoman reached out to the board but hasn't received a response. However, in an email sent to bar applicants obtained by The Oklahoman, the board said it has considered people's concerns but still plans to proceed with the July exam.

“The decisions the Board has made have not been made lightly and your concerns, as well as many others, were all taken into consideration when the decision was made to proceed with the exam as planned and have again been considered since,” the email states. “... Please know that we are closely monitoring the conditions in Oklahoma and Oklahoma City and will notify you immediately should anything change our plan to proceed with the exam. But after all due consideration, the bar exam will proceed as scheduled on July 28-29, 2020.”