Taking the UBE in a state different from where you intend to practice?

[Generic]

I am a Canadian JD from the West Coast and may move to New York. The NY Bar consists of the UBE, MPRE, and the NYLE. Given that the UBE is standardized, if I can avoid taking the UBE in New York, I would like that option and transfer the UBE score, as Washington is also a UBE state and much closer. 

However, looking at the Washington Courts Website (https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/pdf/APR/GA_APR_03_00_00.pdf), it seems like Canadian JDs (without an LLM) aren't eligible to sit in Washington to take the UBE. Could I get a second opinion on whether I understand this correctly?

APPLICANTS FOR ADMISSION TO PRACTICE LAW

(b) Qualification for Lawyer Bar Examination. To qualify to sit for the lawyer bar examination, a person must not be eligible for admission by motion or Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) score transfer and must present satisfactory proof of:
(1) graduation with a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from a law school approved by the Board of
Governors; or
(2) completion of the law clerk program prescribed by these rules; or
(3) graduation from a university or law school in any jurisdiction where the common law of
England is the basis for its jurisprudence with a degree in law that would qualify the applicant to
practice law in that jurisdiction and admission to the practice of law in that same or other
jurisdiction where common law of England is the basis of its jurisprudence, together with current
good standing and active legal experience for at least three of the five years immediately
preceding the filing of the application

(1) seems to refer to ABA accredited schools; (2) seems like unnecessary extra work that favors going to NY to write the UBE; and (3) doesn't apply to recent graduates. 

TLDR: It seems like Canadian JDs hoping to go to NY likely cannot write the UBE in Washington. Is this correct?

Thank you in advance!

[Turtles]

Canadian-ness aside, note that New York does not accept an MBE score from an exam taken in another jurisdiction.

[bigtruss]

West Coast Canadian who went to law school in the U.S. and recently passed NY Bar.

It's correct that NY doesn't accept a transferred MBE score, but NY does accept a transferred UBE score, so in theory you could write the UBE in a different state and transfer the score to NY within 3 years. Only a few states allow newly-minted Canadian JDs to sit their bar exams and your interpretation is correct in that Washington is not one of them.

I would strongly recommend if you're looking to write the bar and practice in NY that even if it's a squeeze for you, you do what you can to pay the $ up front for a prep course (Barbri, Themis, Kaplan) and take it in a location where the 2 nights hotel stay are as cheap as possible (Buffalo, Albany). If $ isn't an issue, then I would suggest paying for an extra day's to get settled and adjusted to the time difference in one of those cities before writing the exam. You can take it NYC where the flight might be cheaper/more convenient, but travel and admin the day of the exam is generally viewed as more hectic and can be disorienting.

So, in short, yes to "(2) seems like unnecessary extra work that favours going to NY to write the UBE". I do think you'd be fine writing the MPRE in Washington state though, which it seems by implication you already have a handle on. 

Best of luck!

[Generic]

Thank you so much! 

[Mignonette]

I don't know how accurate this is - but I've heard anecdotally that firms don't necessarily need you to have taken the UBE before recruiting you, and if you can get recruited by a firm in NY they may pay for your exam fees and a stipend for a month while you study and take the exam.  It might be worth doing some networking with others who have transferred to NY and seeing what order they did things in. 

[bigtruss]

On 1/9/2025 at 4:15 AM, Mignonette said:

I don't know how accurate this is - but I've heard anecdotally that firms don't necessarily need you to have taken the UBE before recruiting you, and if you can get recruited by a firm in NY they may pay for your exam fees and a stipend for a month while you study and take the exam.  It might be worth doing some networking with others who have transferred to NY and seeing what order they did things in. 

Can't comment on the accuracy of this for Canadian JDs looking to practice in NY, but can say that NY biglaw firms pay for all the expenses associated with the Bar including prep courses, all of the fees, travel and hotel stays for the exam and swearing-in, plus either a stipend or interest-free loan for the study period depending on the firm. Makes intuitive sense that it would be similar or the same for Canadian JDs with a job offer in hand.