From Gabe Galanda….
Tribal Lawyer Colleagues and Friends:
Last Thursday, the Washington State Bar Association Board of Governors affirmed a 2004 Board decision to add federal Indian jurisdiction to Washington’s bar exam, by adopting a customized version of the Uniform Bar Exam, effective 2013, which will still include Indian law. According to draft Board minutes:
Governor Etengoff moved that the WSBA adopt as the Washington State Bar Exam the UBE, consisting of the Multistate Bar Exam-multiple choice exam (MBE), the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), and the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), along with a Washington Educational Component Test (WECT), which will include Indian Law and other subjects particular to Washington State, and which consists of an online/course materials and online multiple choice exam, and also adopt the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) as Washington’s’ Professional responsibility exam. . . . Governor Etengoff’s original motion, as amended, passed 11-0-2. Governors Buri and Flood abstained. Governor Lee was not present for the votes on the Washington State Bar Exam.
Us Indian lawyers and bar leaders in Washington State are thrilled that Indian law was specifically preserved on our state’s bar exam, as our bar moves away from an all-essay format and towards the Uniform Bar Exam and a multi-state format for the first time in our history. We were very worried that Indian law, which has been included on the bar exam in Washington since 2007 and which has demonstrably impacted our legal profession and local tribal-state relations in many positive ways, was going to end up on the cutting room floor.
Turtle Talk 