Diploma Privilege in Lieu of Bar Exam in 2020 with Jordan Couch [LGE 120]

Lawyers Gone Ethical

Bar exams are a rite of passage for attorneys graduating from law school and being sworn in to practice law. But what if the bar exam is not feasible, such as during COVID-19? And what if the bar exam has an incredibly racist history that calls it further into question? And what if there is no empirical evidence that the bar exam has any correlation to an individual's ability to effectively practice law? Jordan Couch is the Chair of the Washington Young Lawyers Committee, and he has been taking up the laboring oar on diploma privilege, gathering data and writing to advocate for more state bars to grant graduates the right to practice. Jordan sat down with Megan to discuss this pressing issue and its many ramifications.

Resources Mentioned: Jordan's letter regarding diploma privilege

Article on history of bar exam

CA bar statistics with race breakdown

Some info from the LSAC bar passage study

A more modern article about race and the bar exam

More on the history of diploma privilege

Guest Info:

Jordan Couch on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter

Jordan’s Email: [e-mail]

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