Utah Supreme Court contemplates allowing law school graduates to practice law w/o passing the bar

SALT LAKE CITY — Coronavirus concerns stole the last few months of attending classes for Utah and BYU third-year law students. And now it threatens to postpone or cancel their opportunity to take the 2020 Utah State Bar Exam.

A proposed order from the Utah Supreme Court, however, could mean they get to practice law sooner than they would without the disruption of the COVID-19 outbreak — and without taking the bar exam at all.

The Supreme Court’s proposed order would grant “diploma privilege” to those who graduate between May 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, with a law degree from an American Bar Association-approved law school with a first-time bar exam success rate of 86% or better. That means that with some caveats and conditions, these students could become lawyers without ever taking the test.

“The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted ordinary life in a seemingly infinite number of ways,” said a statement from the court that accompanied the proposed order released for public comment Thursday afternoon.

Read more: https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/4/9/21215940/utah-supreme-court-law-school-graduates-bar-exam-coronavirus-covid-19