SALT will testify at a public hearing on the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) on January 20, 2015 at CUNY School of Law, making the points outlined in this letter. SALT will testify: 1) that New York attorneys have long critiqued the utility and disparate impact on racial minorities of the New York Bar Exam as it is currently administered; (2) more study is needed to determine whether adoption of the UBE will exacerbate the disparate impact that the bar exam has on particular subgroups of test takers; 3) instead of adopting the UBE, New York officials should encourage the National Council of Bar Examiners to reform the bar exam as it currently exists so that it more accurately tests the skills required of new lawyers in today’s society; and 4) the multiple choice portion on New York law that would be adopted along with the UBE requires additional study.
SALT JAN 2015 UBE NY BAR LETTER
SCHEDULE_CUNY_PUBLIC_HEARING
Andrew Keshner, Panelists Hear Concerns About Adopting Uniform Bar Exam, New York Law Journal, Jan. 22, 2015 (quoting CUNY Law Professor Susan Bryant, speaking on behalf of SALT, saying that New York should use its “unique position to push for a better test.”)
Next Public Hearing, March. 4, 2 p.m., at the New York City Bar Association: http://www.nycourts.gov/ip/bar-exam/publichearing.shtml