August 11, 2020

Scott M. Karson

President

New York State Bar Association

1 Elk Street

Albany, NY 12207

Dear President Karson:

We, the undersigned individuals, write to express our disappointment in the New York State Bar Association and to express our intent to forego membership and participation in NYSBA unless it takes concrete steps to address our concerns about the online administration of the New York Bar Exam.

On July 12, 2020, members of United for Diploma Privilege New York sent a letter to the NYSBA’s Task Force for Attorney Well-Being. The letter acknowledged the Task Force’s commitment to the “greater well-being” of attorneys and asked it to support diploma privilege as an extension of that commitment to the mental health of incoming attorneys.

On July 24, 2020, The New York State Law Grad Coalition sent a letter to NYSBA regarding the many privacy and equity concerns raised by an online administration of the bar exam. In this letter, we discussed the recent technological failures plaguing online examinations, and recommended adopting emergency diploma privilege to ensure the minimum competence of incoming attorneys. To date, both letters remain unanswered.

Considering NYSBA’s lack of leadership on issues around the bar exam and its failure to respond to our communications, we have come to believe that NYSBA does not adequately represent or care about our interests. Since March, many recent graduates have faced severe strain on their mental and physical health, as well as financial burdens. The Court of Appeals and the Board of Law Examiners twice postponed the July 2020 administration of the New York Bar Exam and now insist upon an untested, unproven online exam. These changes only amplified the numerous personal and professional pressures new lawyers face as we attempt to press our careers forward in the midst of a global health crisis. Recent graduates have repeatedly reached out to NYSBA for support, assistance, and explanation, all to no avail. NYSBA’s failure to address our needs is disheartening, especially when state bar associations, such as the Pennsylvania State Bar Association^[1], are actively working to address the hardships that their prospective members are enduring.

It is disconcerting that NYSBA considers itself the “voice of the legal profession in New York,” but aside from a perfunctory press release^[2], has chosen not to address any of the direct concerns of the newest generation. This lack of communication is troubling, and leads us to believe that NYSBA cannot adequately represent us. As an association that represents a prestigious legal community—that purports to value the diversity and wellness of a professional community which lacks in the former, and holds high rates of addiction and other mental health issues within the latter—the NYSBA has an obligation to heed the concerns of potential future members, particularly in these areas, if it seeks to collect membership dues and maintain CLE attendance.^[3] 

We, the undersigned parties, have therefore resolved not to seek or continue NYSBA membership or participate in its programs, unless the NYSBA urgently voices its public support for diploma privilege legislation as the only equitable accommodation for those who planned to take the July 2020 Bar exam. Given the many problems surrounding an online bar exam (which the NYSBA itself has previously recognized),^[4] graduates should not be forced to rely on untested technology to demonstrate competence. As other states have demonstrated, more equitable options are available. By failing to endorse these options, the NYSBA has failed incoming attorneys.

We urge the NYSBA to acknowledge—as it has before—the infeasibility of an online bar exam and publicly support New York Senate Bill S8827A and Assembly Bill A10846.

Sincerely,

The New York State Law Grad Coalition and United for Diploma Privilege New York

        CC:        T. Andrew Brown, President-Elect, NYSBA

                Henry M. Greenberg, Immediate Past President, NYSBA

Mirna M. Santiago, Executive Committee Member-at-Large, Diversity & Inclusion Committee Chair, NYSBA

                James R. Barnes, Continuing Legal Education Committee Co-Chair, NYSBA

                Shawndra G. Jones, Continuing Legal Education Committee Co-Chair, NYSBA

Marta Galan Ricardo, Legal Education and Admission to the Bar Committee Chair, NYSBA

                Susan DeSantis, Chief Communications Strategist, NYSBA

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Attached:  

1.   Letter from the New York State Law Grad Coalition to NYSBA 
2. Letter from United for Diploma Privilege New York to NYSBA Task Force