Unanswered Questions

Hat tip to Sara Berman who shared an op ed that made it to my inbox this morning. The article: When Will Life Be Normal Again? We Just Don’t Know, by Charlie Warzel, an opinion editor for the New York Times. Warzel’s article consists of 46, mostly single-sentence, paragraphs of pandemic related questions that we simply do not have answers to. Those unanswered questions are flanked by only and exactly eight sentences of text, that bring home the point that as we enter a month or more of shelter in place lockdown, “we have more questions than answers.”

Today, like so many days before, I ended the day with more questions than I started with. And not one of my questions has found a definitive answer. I’ve read and written articles, blogs, exposés, papers, and proposals, but I’ve found no catchall answers for those tasked to assist the incoming class of attorneys with bar readiness. As I ponder my own questions, my thoughts shift seamlessly to the meritorious and unanswered questions of law students and future bar takers:

If there is a bar exam, will masks be included on the list of permitted items? If not, will the examiners provide masks at the test sites?

How will bar examiners ensure the safety of examinees during the exam administration? Will there be on-site coronavirus testing?

What recourse do we have if we contract the virus during an exam administration?

Should we have to risk our health and the safety of our loved ones to take the bar exam? 

If it's not safe to go to school, attend church services, or have dinner in a restaurant, how is it safe to sit in a room with others for six hours to take an exam?

What supervised practice options are available to students who plan to enter solo practice or practice in rural areas without other attorneys?

What arrangements will there be for students who receive test accommodations? 

When did administration of the bar exam become tied to the number of people taking it? 

If there is a bar exam given in July in State A, will students in State A also have the option to take the exam in September instead of July? 

If a student who has registered to take the July exam does not feel safe taking the exam in July or September, can that student receive a refund of their examination fee?

Are you listening to the students in your state or are you listening to some outside entity tell you what is best for us? 

Could you study [effectively] for a two-day bar exam under these conditions? Has anyone ever had to prepare for and take a bar exam under these conditions? 

Do you wonder why the number of people interested in going to law school has dropped?

If an emergency is not a time to make a change, when is?

Why are folks in a diploma privilege state so opposed to diploma privilege?

What is it about diploma privilege that scares you? 

Isn't diploma privilege a bigger threat to those who sell and profit from the exam than it is to the public? 

What good is ABA approval if examiners and the ABA don’t trust our law schools to educate us and prepare us for practice? 

What does the bar exam test that three years of law school did not teach us? 

Why do you have more confidence in an exam than in us?

I claim no originality for this week’s blog. I credit a writer whom I’ve never met for the concept, and I credit the questions to the voices of law students that I have and will continue to listen to.

(Marsha Griggs)