The path for Florida law school graduates to practice their chosen profession narrowed this week as the state Supreme Court rejected the idea of allowing graduates a supervised practice option in lieu of taking the traditional state bar exam.
The high court’s Sept. 3 decision comes in the wake of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners scheduling an online exam on Oct. 13 for those seeking to enter the legal profession. The October date comes after multiple delays and technical problems in recent months in scheduling the test during the coronavirus pandemic.
Last month, 50 Florida Bar members petitioned the court to allow qualified individuals coping with past exam delays to be admitted to the bar without taking the exam, provided they followed a supervised legal practice period.
“The court has determined and still believes that the law school graduation alone does not sufficiently demonstrate the knowledge, ability and preparedness necessary to admit a law graduate to the practice of law in Florida,” the Florida Supreme Court said. “... This court also does not believe that the completion of six months of supervised practice can sufficiently substitute for the passage of a comprehensive bar examination that would allow the court to fulfill its constitutional duty to evaluate a bar applicant’s knowledge and skill before admitting the applicant to the unrestricted practice of law.”
State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando), who has written to other state officials about her constituents’ concerns about bar exam delays and online security issues, criticized the latest turn of events.
“I am incredibly disappointed that the Florida Supreme Court has rejected concepts already adopted in other states to allow our law students to enter the professional field via diploma privileges,” Eskamani told the Florida Record in an email.
She also pointed to a lack of detail about a backup testing plan that is being developed by the Board of Bar Examiners.
“Overall, constituents are not satisfied,” Eskamani said, “and the court still hasn’t announced the contingency plan if the software (ExamSoft) doesn’t work.”
The board announced last month that ExamSoft, a firm with more than two decades of experience in rolling out online exams, would administer the October test. ILG Technologies software had been used in the preparations for the previously scheduled exam, but applicants expressed security concerns about software.
Chief Justice Charles Canady took the unusual step of issuing a video apology to applicants in the wake of the cancelation of last month’s scheduled exam bar exam. “Our inability to offer the bar examination in August was a failure,” Canady said. “We apologize for that failure.”
The October exam will consist of three essay questions and 100 multiple-choice questions, according to the Board of Bar Examiners. The multiple-choice portion deals with Florida law and topics such as rules of civil and criminal procedures, torts, evidence and wills. And the essay questions will focus on both U.S. constitutional law and subjects based on Florida law.