LSAT test prep.

The March administration of the Law School Admission Test has been canceled—just the latest upheaval for legal education, where nearly every law school in the country has already or soon will transition to online courses.

The Law School Admission Council announced Monday that the exam, scheduled for March 30, will not take place at any of the worldwide locations due to the coronavirus outbreak. All test takers in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who were signed up for the March LSAT will automatically be registered for the next administration April 25 in the same area. Those in other countries will automatically be registered for the June LSAT.

Council president Kellye Testy said Tuesday that the decision did not come as a surprise for most March registrants, given the widespread cancellation of events nationwide.

"They not only expected it, it was met with great relief," Testy said, noting that the council has received many emails and online comments saying it did the right thing.

Still, the cancellation of the exam represents yet another question mark for legal education during what is already a tumultuous time. In addition to the quick switch to online classes and uncertainty over how exams will be administered remotely, it remains to be seen how the coronavirus pandemic will impact summer associate hiring and entry-level legal employment, among other things. A sustained economic downturn could well influence law school enrollment trends.

The timing of this month's LSAT cancellation within the law school admissions cycle is fortunate, according to Testy. About 9,000 people were registered to take the exam in March, but only 470 of them were planning to apply to law school for the fall of 2020. That means the vast majority of registrants were either repeat takers hoping to improve their score for the current admission cycle, or those getting a head start on the 2021 admission cycle.

"Thankfully, we're pretty far along in the [current] admission cycle," Testy said. "Most schools already had deadlines, or have them in early April. Most students are already tested and are maybe finishing up applications. There's not many who are really in need of that score in order to apply."

Testy added that the council is working with law schools to provide more flexibility to applicants surrounding deadlines amid the changes.

While the April test date has not yet been canceled, the council is working on contingencies in the event that it is. One possibility is the addition of test dates in the May and throughout the summer.

The council is also working on options to administer the exam remotely, which is possible because the LSAT transitioned last year from a paper exam to a digital one.

Testy noted that the writing portion of the LSAT is currently administered remotely. "You're sitting in your home, and there is a software system that allows you to take the test from your own computer. The idea is that you can take it remotely, and it would be secure."

Steve Schwartz, chief executive officer of test prep provider LSAT Unplugged, said it's unlikely that the council could launch a remote version of the LSAT by the April test date. A remote test might be possible by the summer, said Schwartz, who predicted that the April test is likely to be canceled as well.

"It may turn out to be an unexpected benefit of the digital LSAT transition that it eases the transition to bringing LSAT administrations online and accelerates the process," Schwartz said. "This could allow [the council] to administer the LSAT to anyone, anywhere, regardless of the local situation since the need to coordinate in-person is removed. In the long term, we may also see a further increase in LSAT testing administrations per year."

Schwartz added that while most in-person LSAT test prep courses are cancelled, demand for online prep courses is "stronger than ever."

In the meantime, the council is finding other ways to assist law schools in moving their operations online. For instance, it is holding a training session later this week on how schools can hold their admitted students weekends—typically held on campus during the spring—online.

"I think everyone is trying to respond with compassion and agility," Testy said.