In December 2020, NCBE held a series of four webinars focusing on character and fitness.
December 2: Conduct or Condition? The Use of Mental Health Questions in Bar Admissions
In this webinar, speakers discussed the differences between approaches to mental health questions and their importance in the character and fitness process. For instance, does a diagnosis indicate a lack of fitness to practice? Can jurisdictions conduct their own investigations outside the mental health questions to obtain a more complete picture of an applicant? Does this process influence the well-being of the profession in a helpful or unhealthy way? Has the pandemic influenced how we look at mental health?
(Speakers: Lisa Perlen, Executive Director, Tennessee Board of Law Examiners; Andrea Spillars, Executive Director, Missouri Board of Law Examiners; Dr. Diana Uchiyama, Illinois Lawyers’ Assistance Program)
December 9: Tweets, Posts, and Snaps: Social Media in Character and Fitness Investigations
Are social media accounts fair game for character and fitness investigators? This webinar presented a firsthand account of how a jurisdiction uses social media posts in their investigations and what standards and limitations they have set both for the applicant behavior and their investigators. Also, the session included a scholar’s thoughts on the increase in digital abuse and harassment, how to identify it, how it should or should not be regulated, and how technology is shaping us.
(Speakers: Thomas E. Kadri, assistant professor, University of Georgia School of Law; Sophie Martin, Executive Director, New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners; Tiffany Stronghart, NCBE Digital Communications Specialist)
December 16: Soft Skills, Character, and Professional Identity Formation
This webinar provided an exploration of generational differences in the definition of moral character and professionalism, how law schools teach professional identity formation, and the dual role of bar admissions authorities in both communicating and upholding professional standards.
(Speakers: Jerome M. Organ, co-director, Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions; Carol Smith, Bar Admissions Administrator, West Virginia Board of Law Examiners; Anne Rodini Tavernier, attorney, Monroe Maxness Berg)
December 17: The How and Why of the Cross-Reference Service
Jurisdictions using NCBE’s Cross-Reference Service gain useful information to determine an applicant’s character and fitness by uncovering any undisclosed prior applications—for admission by examination, admission on motion, law student registration, or other types of admission or registration. This webinar provided a nuts-and-bolts discussion and tutorial of how to use the Cross-Reference Service and why jurisdictions should participate.
(Speakers: Allison Drish, Director of Character and Fitness, Texas Board of Law Examiners; Penelope Gessler, NCBE Director of Investigations; Kathleen Harrington, Deputy Director of Attorney Services, State of Connecticut Judicial Branch)
