nonlawyers to come in with domestic violence victims to appear in court . You might say they ’ re not giving legal advice , but to a certain extent they are . Those exceptions need to be watched very closely .
6Who do you think makes a good bar examiner ? What type of people should be involved in this work , and what do you think are the proper characteristics for people who make decisions about who should be admitted to the bar ?
They should have the interest of lawyers at heart , and also public protection . And they should have both concerns equally , hand in hand , not just one or the other . Also , they should really be willing to work , as it ’ s not an honorary job .
They don ’ t all have to be lawyers either , although North Dakota ’ s bar examiners are lawyers . When I took the bar exam in 1958 , the bar examiners wrote the exam , but that by and large isn ’ t the case anymore . Of course , some states have their own special state questions . But I certainly don ’ t think all bar examiners need to be lawyers . I would want the majority to be lawyers , but I wouldn ’ t object to there being psychologists , psychiatrists , or teachers on a board of bar examiners .
7As Chief Justice and now Associate Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court , and liaison to the North Dakota Bar Board , you have attended many of NCBE ’ s Annual Bar Admissions Conferences over the decades . How have the conferences benefited you ? Do you think the justices ’ roundtables that occur at each conference have been of value ?
The justices ’ roundtable is a great idea . The first time the roundtable was held , there were just a handful of justices , and now there are often somewhere around 40 attending , which is wonderful . What an improvement that is . The justices really do get to discuss issues among themselves . Many justices come to the bench viewing bar admissions as a mostly ceremonial function , and they don ’ t
understand what goes on behind it . In that aspect , NCBE has done a wonderful job of educating justices . Face-to-face interaction is still the best way to transfer information , which is what makes the roundtables so valuable . I often came back with ideas from the roundtable that I shared with the other North Dakota justices .
Final Thoughts : On NCBE ’ s Contributions to Bar Admissions
North Dakota would certainly not be where it is without NCBE . Developing the MBE , and later the MEE and the MPT , was a monumental task . NCBE made us a better group because of that . Although the bar examiners did the best they could at the time , my experience in 1958 was that the bar exam was a farce . That ’ s NCBE ’ s biggest contribution – providing expertise in developing the exam itself as we know it today . The bar exam is a much more professional process than it was before . And of course , NCBE plays an important role as a sounding board for all of the various issues that arise around the country .
As NCBE undertakes the task of developing the bar exam of the future , the devil will be in the details , and there will no doubt be some hurdles to cross in implementing the new exam , but ultimately , I agree with the goals as NCBE has articulated them . In this day and age when technology is changing so rapidly , I believe that the delivery method of the new exam will be an especially important area of focus .
I congratulate NCBE on its 90th anniversary and its dedicated service to jurisdiction bar admission authorities and Courts as we continue the important work of admitting new lawyers to the profession .
This article originally appeared in The Bar Examiner print edition , Summer / Fall 2021 . It is re-printed with permission from National Council of Bar Examiners ( NCBE ).
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