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The indignities of the bar exam cycle are well documented. People flagged for cheating based on the color of their skin, applicants forced to soil themselves, and examinees subjected to COVID exposure while the state’s spokesperson labeled them lazy. But if anyone’s still not convinced that this exam — largely unjustified by data-based analysis — is a cruel waste of time consider the travails of the in-person MPRE.
While New York is administering the bar exam remotely for the foreseeable future, the MPRE is still set to be handled live. The MPRE enjoys more flexibility when it comes to test-taking conditions, so presumably the bar examiners feel it’s safe to offer in-person without dragging all of the baggage surrounding online testing into the affair. Which would seem fair enough, except when one considers that the test is generally scheduled during the school year and people might well have to travel to take it.
Like this tipster from Canada, who took the UBE in February and now needs to take an MPRE, but is being told to come to New York City. Except…
However, upon checking the Covid-19 policies of Pearson VUE, I discovered that Pearson requires that at least 14 days have passed since the start of a candidate’s quarantine or centralized observation has been lifted by the government or healthcare authorities before the candidate could be admitted to the testing center. In order to comply with this requirement, I would have to arrive in New York at least 14 days before my scheduled MPRE, since I am subject to a mandatory quarantine upon arriving in New York from a CDC Level 4 country. Furthermore, when I return to Canada, I would be subject to another 3-day mandatory hotel quarantine at my own expense, before returning home for at least another 11 days of quarantine. In total, I would have to spend at least 28 days in quarantine and incur thousands of dollars in traveling expenses, all for a two-hour long multiple choice exam.
Upon reaching out to the NCBE, the applicant learned that “NCBE is in active communication with Pearson VUE about the potential to offer the MPRE via a limited remote option for those candidates who have no in-person alternative; however, we do not have any further updates at this time.” That’s better than refusing to consider remote administration out of hand, but it speaks to the loony death drive behind the exam.
Despite being the most important subject in the bar process, the MPRE is largely dismissed as “the joke section” because it’s laughably superficial for an exam designed to prove that someone exhibits the highest professional ethical standards. The profession would be just as well off if we didn’t have the exam at all, but instead we’re going to drag someone through 28 days of quarantine to cling to this charade?
Of course we are.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.