Taking exams/courtesy photo

The coronavirus crisis prompted the Supreme Court of Georgia Monday to cancel the in-person Georgia bar exam scheduled for September and replace it with an online exam administered Oct. 5-6.

Heidi Faenza, the director of the Office of Bar Admissions, said "very specific information" about registering for the October exam and other matters will be available on her office's website next Monday, July 27.

Faenza allowed that the online exam will include multiple choice questions provided by the National Council of Bar Examiners, although not the 200 usually given; one skills performance question provided by NCBE; and essay questions on state law developed by the Georgia Board of Bar Examiners.

Faenza suggested that applicants who cannot find an appropriate place to sit for the two-day online exam contact a Georgia law school, some of which may be able to find safe space to take the exam. She noted that the same health concerns that forced the in-person test to shift online may limit what spaces law schools have to offer.

Cathy Cox, the dean of Mercer Law School, said, "We plan to close our library for the two days of the online bar exam so our graduates could take the exam in the quiet space of the library, if they so choose. For many who have unreliable internet service or distractions at home, I think this would be a good option for them."

"We'll probably open it up to our graduates first," Cox added, "and if we still have space, we'd be happy for graduates of other law schools to take the exam here."

A growing number of jurisdictions during the past month have canceled their in-person July or September bar exams in favor of the National Conference of Bar Examiners' abbreviated online version in October. They include California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Vermont, Kentucky and Tennessee. Several more jurisdictions are giving examinees the option to take the online October test, including Texas, Arizona, and Oregon.

Faenza noted that anyone taking an in-person exam using NCBE questions before the Georgia exam may not also take the Georgia exam.

The September exam had been scheduleded for up to 1,250 applicants at the Georgia International Convention Center, where organizers had planned to require masks and keep applicants at least 6 feet apart.

Karen Sloan of Law.com contributed to this report.