84 attendees representing 37 jurisdictions attended the joint 2019 Annual Meeting of NCBE and the Council of Bar Admission Administrators (CBAA), held on August 15–18 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Meeting attendees were welcomed on Friday morning by outgoing NCBE chair Michele Gavagni of Florida and outgoing CBAA chair Marilyn Wellington of Massachusetts, and NCBE president Judith Gundersen addressed attendees on Saturday morning to inform CBAA members about activities at NCBE and other developments of interest to the bar admissions community.
The 11 CBAA committees met during the first day of the meeting and reported back to all attendees at the concluding business meeting, during which bar admission administrators also shared news from their jurisdictions.
Plenary Sessions
Different Approaches to Deferred Admissions in the Character and Fitness Process
Representatives from Minnesota, Florida, and Connecticut shared their approaches to deferring admissions in the face of various character and fitness issues presented by applicants during the investigations process.
Emily Eschweiler (MN), Kathleen Harrington (CT), Marilyn Wellington (moderator, MA), Michele Gavagni (FL)
Update on the NCBE Testing Task Force
Attendees learned about the three phases of NCBE’s Testing Task Force: the stakeholder research concluded in July 2019 and resulting Executive Summary, the nationwide practice analysis survey that launched on August 1 and the process by which the survey was developed, and the third phase starting in December 2019 in which data from the first two phases will be used to consider bar exam program and test components design.
Hon. Cynthia Martin (MO), Kellie Early (NCBE), Michele Gavagni (FL)
Responding to External Influences on Internal Policymaking and Procedures
How might a jurisdiction respond when it finds itself in a situation where external entities are attempting to influence bar admissions policies? Speakers discussed a five-step strategy and the many resources available to jurisdictions to handle such situations.
Daniel Johnson (AL), Sophie Martin (NM), Bradley Skolnik (IN), Justin Aday (AL)
Best Practices in Grading
From correctly applying grading rubrics to appropriate score spread and the importance of grader calibration, this session covered the grading fundamentals crucial to fair and reliable essay grading procedures.
Sonja Olson (NCBE), Bradley Skolnik (IN), Susan Henricks (TX)
The NCBE/CBAA Annual Meeting is the occasion at which a CBAA member is recognized for outstanding service to the bar admissions community. This year’s recognized CBAA member was Shela Shanks, Director for the Committee on Admissions and the Unauthorized Practice of Law for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals since 2017, and formerly the Director of Admissions for the Nebraska Supreme Court State Bar Commission for four years prior to that.
The Annual Meeting marks the change in leadership of the CBAA Executive Committee: outgoing CBAA immediate past chair Emily Eschweiler of Minnesota recognized outgoing CBAA chair Marilyn Wellington of Massachusetts for her service on the Executive Committee during the 2018–19 term and welcomed Kathleen Harrington of Connecticut as CBAA chair for the 2019–20 term.
The Annual Meeting also marks the change in leadership of the NCBE Board of Trustees, and it is the occasion at which a former NCBE chair is honored for exceptional service to NCBE. During NCBE’s annual recognition dinner for its Board of Trustees, former NCBE chair Rebecca Thiem of North Dakota was honored for her outstanding service to NCBE. Thiem served on the NCBE Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2013 and as chair from 2011 to 2012. Outgoing NCBE chair Michele Gavagni also recognized outgoing Board member Hon. Rebecca White Berch (Ret.) of Arizona, who served on the Board from 2009 to 2019 and as chair from 2017 to 2018. Gavagni then welcomed incoming chair Hon. Cynthia Martin of Missouri for the 2019–20 term.
At the conclusion of the recognition dinner, outgoing NCBE chair Gavagni was recognized for her service as 2018–19 chair. Those speaking to honor Gavagni were Board members Suzanne Richards of Ohio and John McAlary of New York, NCBE president Judith Gundersen, and former Board chair Franklin Harrison of Florida.
CBAA/NCBE
2018–2019 CBAA Executive Committee
Marilyn J. Wellington (MA), Kathleen B. Harrington (CT), Emily J. Eschweiler (MN), Bradley W. Skolnik (IN) (not shown: Sahbra Smook Jacobs [NJ])
2018–2019 NCBE Board of Trustees
Front row: Judith A. Gundersen (NCBE), Hon. Rebecca White Berch (AZ), Suzanne K. Richards (OH), Anthony R. Simon (MS) Second row: Timothy Y. Wong (MN), Michele A. Gavagni (FL), Hon. Cynthia L. Martin (MO), Patrick R. Dixon (CA) Back row: Darin B. Scheer (WY), Hulett H. Askew (GA), Hon. Phyllis D. Thompson (DC), John J. McAlary (NY), Augustin Rivera, Jr. (TX)
Recognitions
Shela Shanks (DC)
Rebecca Thiem (ND)
Miscellaneous
Jane Piraino (AK), Brian Kunzi (NV)
Carol Smith (WV)
Hon. Geoffrey Barnard, Elbert Joseph (both VI)
Anthony Simon, Linda Knight (both MS)
Plenary session attendees
CBAA committee meeting attendees
