Is Bar Exam Failure a Harbinger of Professional Discipline?

40 Pages Posted: 3 Jan 2019

See all articles by Jeffrey Kinsler

Jeffrey Kinsler

Belmont University - College of Law

Date Written: 2017

Abstract

Two of the reasons students fail the bar exam are lack of diligence and incompetence; these are also the primary reasons attorneys are disciplined. Using bar exam and disciplinary data from Tennessee, this Article substantiates the following theses: (1) The more times it takes a lawyer to pass the bar exam the more likely that lawyer will be disciplined for ethical violations, particularly early in the lawyer’s career; and (2) The more times it takes a lawyer to pass the bar exam the more likely that lawyer will be disciplined for lack of diligence—including non-communication—and/or incompetence.

Keywords: Bar Exam, Professional Responsibility, Attorney Professional Ethics

Suggested Citation

Kinsler, Jeffrey, Is Bar Exam Failure a Harbinger of Professional Discipline? (2017). St. John's Law Review , Vol. 91, No. 4, 2017, Belmont University College of Law Research Paper No. 2019-1, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3309240

Jeffrey Kinsler (Contact Author)

Belmont University - College of Law ( email )

1900 Belmont Boulevard
Nashville, TN 37212
United States

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