Law360 is providing free access to its coronavirus coverage to make sure all members of the legal community have accurate information in this time of uncertainty and change. Use the form below to sign up for any of our weekly newsletters. Signing up for any of our section newsletters will opt you in to the weekly Coronavirus briefing.
Sign up for our Appellate newsletter
You must correct or enter the following before you can sign up:
Thank You!
Law360 (September 10, 2020, 4:00 PM EDT ) The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday denied a petition asking that it consider axing the bar exam requirement and allow law school graduates to begin practicing on an emergency basis this year as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A group of law graduates told the court in mid-August that the threat of cyberattacks and other technical glitches in a planned online administration of Pennsylvania's bar exam next month rendered the test an unreliable means of gauging a would-be attorney's competence as compared to a well-regulated emergency licensure system.
In a one-page order Thursday, however, the high court refused to hear their arguments.
"We are deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania denied review in our challenge to the October online bar exam," said Michael Engle of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, who represents the petitioners. "The issues we raised are matters of deep concern to the candidates seeking admission to practice law in Pennsylvania."
Bar applicants are gearing up for an online version of the exam after the state's Board of Law Examiners announced in July that it was canceling that month's typical in-person bar exam sitting in light of the ongoing threat of the coronavirus.
Although the Pennsylvania Bar Association subsequently threw its support behind a plan to waive the bar exam requirement and grant emergency diploma privilege that would allow certain 2020 law graduates to begin practicing without taking the test, Chief Justice Thomas Saylor nixed the plan in early August.
Despite the apparent lack of support from the state's high court, the self-styled Law Students for Equitable Responses to COVID-19 filed an emergency petition with the justices last month arguing that continued reliance on the bar exam represented an infringement on the rights of law students to possess property and pursue their own happiness under the Pennsylvania Constitution.
The petition pointed to the extra costs that would-be attorneys have had to incur in the form of rescinded job offers, delayed hiring decisions from prospective employers, additional time spent taking exam preparation courses and the loss of their school-sponsored health insurance.
Citing complications that other states have experienced in attempting to administer their bar exams online, the group said the test would not be an accurate reflection of a candidate's true competence as an attorney.
The petition pointed in particular to a cyberattack launched in the middle of Michigan's online bar exam last month that left test takers unable to access the second portion of the test and forced the state's Supreme Court to extend the time allotted for the exam.
In Florida, meanwhile, a planned online version of its bar exam was scrapped last month just days before it was scheduled to begin because of data privacy and other software problems.
Engle said Thursday that concerns about Pennsylvania's ability to securely administer the test remained.
"New concerns about the testing platform, format, and necessary accommodations for the candidates are being presented each day to the Board of Law Examiners," he said. "Sadly, the issues we have raised are not being addressed in the manner we had hoped for in this case."
Earlier this week, a group of prospective attorneys slated to take Pennsylvania's bar exam next month asked Attorney General Josh Shapiro to investigate the security of test administrator ExamSoft Inc. following what they said were attempts from third parties to use their personal information soon after they downloaded the company's software.
"Perhaps the attorney general of Pennsylvania will take a serious look at the recent complaints submitted to the Bureau of Consumer Protection regarding significant data breach and security issues arising from the online testing system for the Pennsylvania bar exam," he said.
David Fine of K&L Gates LLP, who chairs the state's Board of Law Examiners, said he appreciated the concerns of the bar applicants.
"The board respects the petitioners' advocacy and the court's resolution of the petition," he said. "We will continue to work toward having a smooth remote exam next month."
The petitioners are represented by Michael Engle of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC and Louis Natali Jr. of the Temple University Beasley School of Law.
The case is In re: the Petition of Law Students for Equitable Responses to COVID-19, case number 74 WM 2020, in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
--Additional reporting by Matthew Santoni and Carolina Bolado. Editing by Stephen Berg.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
