APR 4 - Bar Examinations; Notification of Results

• Proposed Changes to APR 4 - Bar Examinations; Notification of Results (in Word Format)
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GR 9 Cover Sheet

Suggested Amendments

ADMISSION AND PRACTICE RULES (APR) Rule 4.

Submitted by the Washington State Bar Association

A. Name of Proponent:

Washington State Bar Association

Robin L. Haynes, President

B. Spokesperson:

Paula C. Littlewood, Executive Director

Jean K. McElroy, General Counsel/Chief Regulatory Counsel

C. Purpose:

The primary purpose of the suggested amendments to APR 4 is to centralize the location of all rules relating to the admission examinations for lawyers, LPOs and LLLTs and to coordinate as much as possible the policies and procedures relating to how the examination results are released to applicants.

APR 4(a): The suggested amendments would broaden current language to cover applications for admission to practice law for all types of licenses, and clarify that the Bar has authority to set dates and locations of all of the examinations.

APR 4(b): The suggested amendments clarify the types of information the Bar can release regarding examination results. They also explicitly state that there shall be no appeal or review of examination results; this approach to appeals currently is stated in other rules in the APR for LPOs and LLLTs, and in the WSBA Admission Policies (approved by the BOG since 2012) for lawyers. The no appeal policy is consistent with the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) standards of the condition of use for the UBE.

APR 4(c): The suggested amendments state the existing policy for repeats of the lawyer bar examination and broaden the language so it is applicable to the LLLT and LPO examinations as well.

APR 4(d): The suggested amendments explicitly state that the Washington lawyer bar examination consists of the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) and would incorporate WSBA Admissions policies that have been approved by the BOG and in place since Washington began using the UBE, including the required passing scores and expiration period for the MPRE.

APR 4(e) and APR 4(f): The suggested amendments relating specifically to the LLLT and LPO examinations contain provisions that currently are contained in APR 12 and APR 28, with only one change. The time in which to pass the LLLT ethics exam would be modified to 40 months after passing the LLLT practice area exam so that it would be consistent with the time to complete all preadmission requirements.

Other suggested amendments are made to conform the terminology to that which is used throughout the suggested amendments to the APR.

D. Supporting Material:

http://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/pdf/2016APRCoverLetterToCourt.pdf