Taking the Bar Exam in July? Sign This Coronavirus Waiver
Legal academics are slamming Mississippi for requiring bar examinees to sign away their ability to sue over COVID-19 exposure.
May 29, 2020 at 11:15 AM
3 minute read
Those sitting for the July bar exam in Mississippi have a little extra paperwork to fill out this year: A waiver indemnifying the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions and the Mississippi Supreme Court from liability should they contract COVID-19 from the two-day exam.
The state's high court earlier this month adopted a plan put forth by the Board of Bar Admissions to move forward with an in-person test in July, which includes a number of public health measures as well as a requirement that examinees sign liability waivers. Some legal academics are criticizing the use of the waivers, however, saying they highlight precisely why holding in-person bar exams during a pandemic is a bad idea. Examinees have no choice but to sign the waiver since the bar exam is a requirement to practice, they noted.
"Another outrageous bar exam plan," tweeted Joan Howarth, a professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who is among a group of legal academics pushing jurisdictions to find alternative ways to license new attorneys amid the coronavirus outbreak. "Don't worry, nurses will be there to take temps & handle other issues. Nuts."
Marcie Baria, the chairwoman of the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter Friday, nor did a Mississippi Supreme Court representative. The court approved the board's plan on May 14, making it one of 20 jurisdictions that intend to administer the exam in-person as scheduled in July. (The remaining states have postponed the test until September or adopted alternative measures such as online exams or an emergency diploma privilege that allows people to skip the bar exam altogether.)
"I fully understand and appreciate both the known and potential dangers of utilizing the facilities and services of the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions in the administration of the July 2020 Bar Exam and acknowledge that my use thereof may, despite the [board's] reasonable efforts to mitigate such dangers, result in exposure to COVID-19, which could result in quarantine requirements, serious illness, disability; and/or death," the waiver reads.
Howarth said Friday that other jurisdictions planning to hold large, in-person bar exams will likely require waivers of some sort due to the health risks involved. "To outsiders, the plan seems technically precise but lacking in wisdom about the big picture," she said.
According to the board's proposal, the deans of the state's two law schools as well as test takers voiced a "strong desire" to hold the exam as soon as possible. About 160 people have signed up to take the July test, which has been relocated to the Jackson Convention Center to allow for more social distancing among examinees. The board's plan also calls for temperature checks and nurses on hand.
But the board said that many of its "usual stable of proctors" are in high-risk categories for COVID-19, thus it plans to offer pro bono credit hours to young attorneys who agree to step in as exam proctors.
"Is exposing examinees, examiners, and proctors to illness or death really the preferred option over supervised practice or a sensible online competency exam?" wrote Washburn University law professor Marsha Griggs on Twitter.
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