Add the Bar Exam to the Racism List YOUR LAND

Hiring an attorney seems like a stressful process. The need for one does not usually arise from good fortune, and the prospect of losing a case looms large. Naturally, you want to find the best attorney to represent your needs and interests.

You look at what law school they went to, what firm they work for, what states have admitted them to the bar, and their previous track record. All of these factors contribute to whether or not you hire someone to represent you.

But in the state of Washington, the rigorous certification process that is a feature of the legal industry will soon be a thing of the past. Last week, the Washington Supreme Court issued new guidelines eliminating the bar exam as a requirement to practice law in the state. The justification for this abrupt change?

Racism.

“The traditional bar exam disproportionately and unnecessarily blocks marginalized groups from entering the practice of law, and the traditional bar exam is at best minimally effective for ensuring competent lawyers,” the court’s Bar Licensure Task Force said in a press release.

Instead of challenging people of all backgrounds to strive to higher achievement in order to ensure that members of the legal profession in Washington are the highest caliber of attorneys, the state Supreme Court decided to lower the standards to practice law by claiming that “marginalized groups” are too dumb to study and pass an exam. In their bid to be more inclusive, the court adopted the soft bigotry of low expectations.

But besides dismissing “marginalized groups” as being incapable of passing an exam, the effect of this policy will be quite damaging. Already, the American Bar Association has repeatedly tried to remove the LSAT from law school entrance requirements, and this latest policy will only serve to dumb the legal profession down even further.

And while the new wave of lawyers enters the profession without rigorous vetting, those most harmed by this change in policy will be everyday