Examinations

Section 1. An applicant shall be allowed to take the bar examination once the applicant’s application is approved by the board. Every applicant shall be notified no fewer than ten days in advance of the bar examination whether the application has been approved and shall be provided an examination permit. The examination permit shall be presented to the examination proctor on the first day of the examination. Section 2. If an application is approved by the board, the applicant shall submit to a bar examination. The bar examination shall be given not less than once every 12 months, shall be written, and shall be conducted in the manner and at the time and place established by the board. The board may direct that the bar examination be administered to applicants with physical handicaps in a fair and reasonable manner other than the manner by which it is administered to other applicants. An applicant with a physical handicap who desires the bar examination to be administered in a manner other than the manner by which it is administered to other applicants shall so petition the board at the time of filing the application. Approval of an application and subsequent bar examination shall not operate to foreclose a subsequent determination by the board that the applicant is unfit or ineligible for certification to the supreme court for admission to the practice of law. Section 3. As soon as practicable after the bar examination, the committee shall certify to the board its written report of bar examination. The committee shall submit to the board a written report stating the total number of applicants examined, the number passing and the number failing the bar examination, the average performance of each as designated by the code number of each, the maximum possible point value of each bar examination part or section, and other information the committee or the board may deem relevant. Section 4. Examination, Responsibility The board shall determine the qualifications of each applicant upon the basis of the report of the Law Examiners Committee, proof of passage of the Multistate Professional the recommendations of the executive director, and such other matter it may consider pertinent under these rules. The board shall certify to the supreme court the results of the bar examination and its recommendations as to those applicants who are determined qualified for admission to the practice of law and who have complied with the provisions of Rule 5. Notice of the board’s determination shall be provided in writing to each applicant. Notice to an applicant determined not qualified shall state the reason for such determination. Section 5. If written request is made to the board within one month following notice of failure to pass a bar examination, an applicant who takes and fails to pass the bar examination has the right to inspect his or her Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) examination books, the grades assigned thereto, and a representative sampling of passing and failing MEE or MPT answers to the bar examination at the office of the Alaska Bar Association, or at such place as the board may designate. Absent an express prohibition by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), an applicant who takes and fails to pass the bar examination has the right to inspect a copy of his or her Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) answer sheet or Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination answer sheet, scores, and the correct answer key to the form of his or her MBE examination or Multistate Professional Responsi- bility Examination under the procedures designated by the board. An applicant has no right to a copy of any of these MBE materials or Multistate Professional Responsibility Examina- tion materials for removal from the place of inspection. An applicant who passes the bar examination is not entitled to inspect any MEE or MPT examination books or discover the individual grades assigned thereto. The Executive Director will provide all applicants their total written scaled score (based on the MEE and MPT), MBE scaled score, and UBE total scaled score. Section 6. A scaled score of 270 or above, as calculated by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, shall be the passing grade on the bar examination. Section 7. (Repealed by SCO 608 effective July 1, 1985) Section 8. All examination books and answers, including those designated by the committee as comprising a representative sampling of passing and failing answers to the bar examination, may be destroyed one year following the last date an applicant has been notified of the applicant’s failure; except that no examination book and answers shall be destroyed until one year following the final disposition of any proceeding to which they may be relevant. (Added by SCO 161 effective immediately; amended by SCO 233(1) effective April 1, 1976; amended by SCO 247 effective April 1, 1976; amended by SCO 293 effective March 15, 1978; by SCO 504(3) effective June 1, 1982; amended by SCO 608 effective July 1, 1985; by SCO 762 effective October 30, 1986; by SCO 1153 effective July 15, 1994; by SCO 1178 effective July 15, 1995; by SCO 1487 effective December 11, 2002; by SCO 1487 effective April 15, 2003; by SCO 1807 effective October 15, 2013; by SCO 1814(1) effective January 1, 2014; by SCO 1814(2) effective May 16, 2014; by SCO 1856 effective May 1, 2015 and by SCO 2002 effective February 27, 2023)