AUSTIN – A few months from now, individuals aspiring to be lawyers can take the bar exam from home, even those who previously failed.
Earlier this month, the Texas Supreme Court cancelled the July bar exams in response to the resurgence of COVID-19 in the state.
The September in-person exams are still on the docket, for now. For October, the high court approved an online test for future lawyers.
According to documents obtained by The Record, exam repeaters are permitted to apply during the shortened registration period for October.
The overall pass rate for the bar exam in February dropped to 45.9 percent. The pass rate was 53.5 percent in February 2019. In all, 539 out of the 996 people who took the test failed.
According to the Texas Board of Law Examiners, as long as the person has not attempted the bar exam five previous times, s/he would be able to register for the September in-person or October online exam. Anyone who has five previous attempts would have to apply for a waiver in order to take the exam for a sixth time.