A detail of one of the Justices chairs in the Supreme Court courtroom in the Nathan Deal Judicial Center. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

In its latest response to the novel coronavirus pandemic Friday, the Georgia Supreme Court delayed the bar exam and set up provisional admission so new law graduates can go ahead and get to work.

"As we carefully considered all of our options, it became clear that the bar exam should not go forward in July," Chief Justice Harold Melton said in a news release Friday. Up to 1,500 people take the July bar exam each year, and almost all sit close together in the same convention hall, he noted. He added that the court consulted on the question with the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Melton said the court has rescheduled the July 28-29 bar exam for Sept. 9-10.

"At the same time, it is vitally important to the Court that the law students and graduates affected by this delay be afforded the opportunity to move forward in their careers," Melton said. "That is why we are creating this new rule allowing provisional admission."

The court issued a nine-page order adopting a temporary rule allowing recent graduates to be provisionally admitted to practice law before taking the bar exam. The same offer is extended to attorneys licensed in other states.

"In the light of the uncertainty about the duration of the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 in Georgia and throughout the United States and the extent to which public health may require the continuation for several months of measures to impede the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and after consultation with the Department of Public Health, the Supreme Court of Georgia has determined that the July 2020 administration of the Georgia bar examination should be postponed," the order said. "To the extent that circumstances permit the administration of the bar examination in September 2020, the Court has directed the Board of Bar Examiners and the Office of Bar Admissions to make the necessary arrangements for the administration of the bar examination on September 9 and 10."

The order went on to say the high court "recognizes that the postponement of the bar examination may limit the employment prospects and impair the livelihoods of persons who recently have graduated from law school, as well as persons admitted to the practice of law in other jurisdictions who recently have moved to Georgia and are not eligible at this time for admission here without examination. The Court seeks to mitigate these economic hardships while fulfilling its responsibility to protect the public by ensuring that persons engaged in the practice of law are competent to do so."

The order sets conditions for provisional admission. It said to be eligible, new lawyers must have graduated within the past 18 months and have a certificate of character and fitness from the Board to Determine Fitness of Bar Applicants, an ordinary prerequisite for being eligible to take the bar exam. Also they must be certified as competent to practice law by the graduate's dean or law professor and have not failed a bar exam previously.

Melton said the court consulted with the deans of the state's law schools in setting the requirements.

"We appreciate the advice we have received from the deans of Georgia's five law schools in crafting this rule, as well as the leadership of the State Bar of Georgia and the Board of Bar Examiners," Melton said. "I am confident that the new rule strikes a good balance between protecting the public and preserving opportunities for law school graduates."

Melton shared a joint statement from the five deans: "This pandemic presents profound challenges for our State and our profession. Those challenges demand collaborative leadership across institutions. Exemplary of that collaborative leadership, Georgia's law schools, the Judiciary, and the Bar have long enjoyed a relationship characterized by exceptional good will. Drawing on that relationship, the deans of the five Georgia law schools are grateful to the leaders of the Judiciary and the Bar for their thoughtful and collaborative approach in addressing these present challenges. We are united in our support of the Court's order and, in executing it, resolve to help our graduates with their entry into the profession and their efforts to serve the many legal needs of Georgia's citizens."

Also Friday, the University of Georgia canceled spring graduation ceremonies, making plans to hold an alternative graduate commencement Dec. 18, 2020, at 2:30 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum, in combination with the regularly scheduled fall 2020 event.

President Jere W. Morehead said the fall in-person ceremonies will take place only if "it is deemed safe to do so at that time by the CDC and state health officials."

The university still plans to commemorate the original commencement date of May 8 with a congratulatory online message to acknowledge the conferral of degrees earned by the graduates.

"We do not want to let this important moment pass by without acknowledging its significance. It is truly a long-awaited culmination of your efforts, and for some of you it may be your sole chance to celebrate this accomplishment," Morehead said to graduates. "We look to the fall as a time when we will hopefully be ready and able to gather once again. I trust that you and your classmates, whose love for the University of Georgia is unmatched, will return in force to Athens when the time is safe to do so."

At noon Friday, the total number of cases rose above 17,000, with 650 deaths, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health COVID-19 Daily Status Report.