Hamilton Herald Masthead

Editorial


Front Page - Friday, May 22, 2020

Supreme Court approves new policy for July 2020 bar exam




The Tennessee Supreme Court last week entered an order regarding administration of the July 2020 bar examination.

The order states the July examination, to be held July 28-29, will go forward with reduced seating. The court also approved new Board Policy P-4.03, which establishes a protocol for seating applicants.

The new board policy establishes priorities for seating at the July examination. First seating priority is for applicants who are 2019 or 2020 graduates of law schools in Tennessee who will be taking the examination for the first time. If seats remain, additional levels of seating priorities have been established.

“This has been a difficult time for recent law school graduates, and the board is committed to making the Uniform Bar Examination available to all July 2020 applicants before the end of the year, absent any new ‘safer at home’ orders or other significant changes,” says Bill Harbison, president of the Board of Law Examiners.

Applicants who cannot be seated at the July exam due to continued restrictions on the size of gatherings and social distancing requirements will be seated at the October exam.

That additional examination, which has been scheduled for Sept. 30-Oct. 1, will have sufficient space to seat any applicant not seated for the July exam.

Applicants who will be seated at the October exam have the opportunity to transfer their application to the February 2021 examination without additional fees.

Source: Tennessee Supreme Court