DC vs. NY Bar? Forum

[ConfusedL1]

Hi all,

I'm planning to work for the fed government (def for a few years but we'll see), but have strong ties to NY. Any advantages to just taking the NY bar instead of DC?

[RetakeFrenzy]

Hi all,

I'm planning to work for the fed government (def for a few years but we'll see), but have strong ties to NY. Any advantages to just taking the NY bar instead of DC?

NY and DC both are now UBE jurisdictions, meaning you can take one and waive into the other.

[haus]

Stories out of DC this summer appeared that they had a horrible time hosting the exam (hours late getting through instructions). Hopefully this was just growing pains as the number of people taking the bat in DC went up notably now that it is on UBE.

If it continues to be a dumpster fire, it might be worthwhile to test elsewhere and then apply your score back to DC if need be.

[ConfusedL1]

Hi all,

I'm planning to work for the fed government (def for a few years but we'll see), but have strong ties to NY. Any advantages to just taking the NY bar instead of DC?

NY and DC both are now UBE jurisdictions, meaning you can take one and waive into the other.

Sorry to be totally uninformed here, but what does that mean? Does it mean I can take the DC bar and if Trumpscapades ruin things I can just waive into NY without having practiced?

[haus]

Hi all,

I'm planning to work for the fed government (def for a few years but we'll see), but have strong ties to NY. Any advantages to just taking the NY bar instead of DC?

NY and DC both are now UBE jurisdictions, meaning you can take one and waive into the other.

Sorry to be totally uninformed here, but what does that mean? Does it mean I can take the DC bar and if Trumpscapades ruin things I can just waive into NY without having practiced?

It means that both jurisdictions have the same bar exam, and for that matter the same score required to pass.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Bar_Examination

Assuming that you get a 266 or higher on the UBE, and you decide that whichever of these jurisdictions you started in is just not for you, you can submit a bar application in the other (still have to jump through the whole C&F stuff...) but you would be able to be admitted to the bar in that other jurisdiction without needing to retake the bar exam*.



* some jurisdiction have add on test, but this should be a smaller less painful approach than taking the full bar exam...

[ConfusedL1]

Hi all,

I'm planning to work for the fed government (def for a few years but we'll see), but have strong ties to NY. Any advantages to just taking the NY bar instead of DC?

NY and DC both are now UBE jurisdictions, meaning you can take one and waive into the other.

Sorry to be totally uninformed here, but what does that mean? Does it mean I can take the DC bar and if Trumpscapades ruin things I can just waive into NY without having practiced?

It means that both jurisdictions have the same bar exam, and for that matter the same score required to pass.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Bar_Examination

Assuming that you get a 266 or higher on the UBE, and you decide that whichever of these jurisdictions you started in is just not for you, you can submit a bar application in the other (still have to jump through the whole C&F stuff...) but you would be able to be admitted to the bar in that other jurisdiction without needing to retake the bar exam*.



* some jurisdiction have add on test, but this should be a smaller less painful approach than taking the full bar exam...

So there's no requirement to have practiced for a certain amount of time to waive in?

[haus]

It is not a waive in. You would be applying your UBE score to that jurisdiction.

No delay/wait should be needed other than the time to review your bar application.

Keep in mind UBE is new to both places, so it might take them a bit to sort out how they want to run through these applications.

[ReadyForCourt]

Take the UBE in New York! Same UBE score is required for both NY and DC. DC is proving itself to be unable to fairly and with professionalism administer and score their exams. Horror stories can be found on this forum and on Abovethelaw.com on the DC July 2016 exam. Not to mention the many July exam takers that noticed irregularities in in the scoring of their MEEs and MPTs when attending the review session earlier this month. Much better to waive into DC later than take the UBE in DC, in my opinion.

[ndp1234]

Just FYI - If you're working in the federal government, you don't need to be barred in DC - they only require you to be barred in any jurisdiction (Yay Supremacy Clause).

Even though they're both UBE, and it doesn't matter which jurisdiction you sit in, you should pick one (the state you will most likely practice in before moving to the feds) since it might save you extra fees in terms of applying for both state's bars right away and annual licensing fees (also CLE req's).

[ConfusedL1]

Just FYI - If you're working in the federal government, you don't need to be barred in DC - they only require you to be barred in any jurisdiction (Yay Supremacy Clause).

Even though they're both UBE, and it doesn't matter which jurisdiction you sit in, you should pick one (the state you will most likely practice in before moving to the feds) since it might save you extra fees in terms of applying for both state's bars right away and annual licensing fees (also CLE req's).

I'd be working for the fed gov. right out of law school. Does that affect anything?

[ndp1234]

Just FYI - If you're working in the federal government, you don't need to be barred in DC - they only require you to be barred in any jurisdiction (Yay Supremacy Clause).

Even though they're both UBE, and it doesn't matter which jurisdiction you sit in, you should pick one (the state you will most likely practice in before moving to the feds) since it might save you extra fees in terms of applying for both state's bars right away and annual licensing fees (also CLE req's).

I'd be working for the fed gov. right out of law school. Does that affect anything?

So you can be licensed with any bar within the 50 states and basically take any bar you'd like. I wouldn't rush to transfer your score from the UBE because it costs money to do the application and you have to keep your multiple bar admissions current with even more fees, so I would just do one at the moment.

You should also speak with your fed employer to see if they have a preference, but usually they don't. One agency I worked at as a 3L had people licensed from NM to NY with no issue.