No Bar
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https://www.nola.com/news/courts/article_411d4088-cb94-11ea-88cd-c74f58da6f9f.html
The Louisiana Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will grant "diploma privilege" to recent law school graduates, allowing them to practice law without taking the now-canceled July 27 bar exam, which the court called off last week in light of a new spike in coronavirus cases.
The announcement set off fiercely opposing reactions: Many recent law school graduates celebrated after months of studying for the most critical exam of their careers, while three of the seven Supreme Court justices filed blistering dissents into the record, saying the state would be licensing unqualified attorneys who may be unfit to serve the public. Last year, a quarter of Louisiana law school graduates who took the July bar exam for the first time — the same classification as those now receiving "diploma privilege" — failed it.
The Supreme Court's order, issued Wednesday, designates which of those who were set to take the July 27 bar exam are "qualified candidates" to start practicing law without it. To be a "qualified candidate," applicants must have been registered for the July or October 2020 bar exams, have graduated from an American Bar Association-accredited law school and not previously sat for any other bar exam in another state.
The lawyers receiving "diploma privilege" must also complete 25 hours of continuing legal education and a mentoring program from the Louisiana Bar Association by the end of 2021.
Others, however, will still have to take remote versions of the bar exam later this year. More experienced attorneys who may have spent years practicing in other states and who were signed up for the now-canceled exam will not be granted licenses without taking the Louisiana bar. And those who previously took the Louisiana bar exam but did not pass it cannot qualify for diploma privilege — they’ll have to endure the exam’s rigors again.
