Commentaries by Rachel Goodman

The long-offered and frequently invoked justification for the bar exam is that the public must be protected from legal incompetence. That is a legitimate, worthy, and necessary concern. Incompetent attorneys erode society’s trust in our profession. Bad lawyering costs clients their money, their rights, and sometimes even their lives.  Yet in their fervor to do [...]

READ MORE

On Wednesday, July 9, 2020, the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners (PABOLE) notified me and the other 1,200 applicants preparing for the Pennsylvania Bar Exam that for the second time in just seventy days, they would be altering the test that will dictate whether we are allowed to practice law. These changes are novel and [...]

READ MORE