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Re: Georgia bar exam , other State and Feredal bar exams
Posted by Revenue Generating Plan! on 1/26/08

    Yes, State of Georgia legislators had the bright idea 2-3 years back that the "yard stick"
    for getting a law license might be the "passing" the bar exam in Georgia. "That is
    ridiculous".

    Passing the bar exam does not insure that only good lawyers will be the result. It only
    demonstrates that the the examinees were good test takers and studied very hard to pass the
    bar exam. It's possible that a law student who barely graduates from an ABA or any law
    school, may in fact even have been on probation for almost the entire law school education,
    then "preps" very well for the bar exam and passes. The bar exam in reality is the "minimum"
    benchmark for measuring competance.

    The idea that any licensing authority be it a state court bar, a federal court bar or any
    federal or state administrative agency might open a "bar admission examination" or
    a "practice qualifying examination" to any student or person would insure only one thing.

    That jurisdiction or administrative agency would start a process that would bring in
    millions of dollars per year to the economy of that state, the federal court bar or the
    federal or state administrative agency. This revenue would be recurring as exam takers would
    sit for the exam "multiple times", failing time and time again, bringing more and more money
    into this scheme.

    You know what really surprises me is that the different states or federal jurisdictions
    don't regulate or certify the "test prep" providers more. This in itself would create a new
    revenue stream and bring million of dollars into the state and federal coffers.

    .........................................................................................

    On 1/25/08, -- wrote:
    > Does anyone know what happened to Georgia's proposal to eliminate educational requirements
    > for the bar exam?
    >
    > I found the item below in a search for something else but I thought it was interesting. I
    > don't know when it was written -- it could have been years ago.
    >
    >
    > **********************
    > [http://www.gabar.org/public/pdf/LEG/HB_150_Info.pdf]
    > H.B. 150 – Bar Exam Requirements
    > Currently, to be eligible to take the bar exam in Georgia, an applicant must have an
    > undergraduate degree from an accredited institution and a J.D. degree from an ABA-approved
    > law school. The Supreme Court of Georgia has established those standards and rules, and
    > the bar admissions and exam process is administered by the Board of Bar Examiners, an
    > agency of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of Georgia, the Board of Bar Examiners and
    > the State Bar believe that legal education is very important to the development of the
    > skills, abilities and values of prospective lawyers. Simply passing a bar exam, a test for
    > minimal competency, does not assure the public that an applicant has all the training (in
    > substantive law, in ethics and in practice skills) that is required and expected of a
    > newly admitted lawyer. The practice of law is becoming more complicated and more
    > demanding, thus justifying the requirement that applicants be better trained and more
    > acclimated to the personal and professional demands placed upon them. Requiring an
    > accredited undergraduate degree and an ABA-approved legal education assures future clients
    > and the public that a newly admitted lawyer is well prepared to represent clients
    > competently and ethically. The Bar Admissions rules exist solely to protect the public.
    > The Supreme Court of Georgia has established rules that are explicit to the needs and
    > expectations of Georgians. Making Georgia subject to the standards of other states, some
    > of which have decided to admit foreign-trained lawyers or lawyers who did not attend any
    > law school, much less an ABA-approved school, is not in the best interests of the
    > people of Georgia. The State Bar of Georgia supports the Board of Bar Examiners and the
    > Supreme Court in their opposition to H.B. 150 on constitutional and practical grounds:
    > 1) The Georgia Constitution and supporting case law vests the authority to regulate the
    > practice of law in the judicial branch of government. Therefore, adoption of H.B. 150 would
    > be a violation of the constitutionally imposed separation of powers. See Wallace v.
    > Wallace, 225 Ga. 102 (1969), Sams v. Olah, 225 Ga. 497 (1969).
    > 2) Practically, if the elimination of all educational requirements as proposed in H.B. 150
    > were approved, on average each year, an additional 2250 applicants would be eligible for
    > admission to the Bar in Georgia (Georgia has approximately 1,800 eligible applicants take
    > the Bar exam each year under current standards.).
    > 3) If the standards of H.B. 150 were adopted, Georgia would be the only state in the U.S.
    > to open its admissions policy to any successful bar exam taker from any other state
    > regardless of the applicant’s education or practical experience.
    > 4) Adoption of H.B. 150 would make Georgia subject to the standards of every other state—
    > when they change their standards, our standards would automatically change. Our applicants
    > would only have to meet the lowest educational standard as established by any of the other
    > 49 states.
    > 5) The vast majority of states require the same or similar educational standards as
    > Georgia—undergraduate degree from accredited institution and an ABA-approved law school.
    > 6) Most other professions in Georgia are required by their state licensing board to have
    > similar educational standards in order to sit for their respective exams. (Applicants for
    > medical exam must graduate from an AMA-approved medical school; architects must graduate
    > from AIA-approved school of architecture, etc.) If H.B. 150 were approved, barbers in
    > Georgia would be required to meet higher educational standards than lawyers.

     
     

 
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