NY Board of Law Examiners (“BOLE”) should provide a 6 month extension of time validity on all extant passing MPRE and NYLE scores for applicants who were deemed by the NY BOLE ineligible to take the September 2020 exam.

The NY BOLE has not provided any explanation as to why these candidates were singled out as being “ineligible”, as opposed to the other candidates who were allowed to sit the exam. By inference it can only be assumed the NY BOLE based its decision on the common misconception, that foreign candidates and repeaters are somehow “less than” for the New York bar exam.

Over 30% of the July/September 2020 would have been foreign candidates or repeaters (*Note foreign candidates fund the NY BOLE with millions of dollars each year, paying 3 x standard fee (($750). These are highly qualified and eligible individuals who have undertaken a rigorous process to be eligible to take the exam.

This petition seeks to address this inequity for candidates who have been inconvenienced and disadvantaged, having 6 months taken off their pre-earned scores, due to the NY BOLE decision and Covid-19.