Justice Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick named head of Board of Law Examiners

September 3, 2020 Rob Abruzzese

Hon. Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, a former associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, will serve as the chair of the New York Board of Law Examiners. Photo: Rob Abruzzese/Brooklyn Eagle

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As recent law school graduates prepare to take the New York State bar exam remotely this October, the New York State Court of Appeals announced on Wednesday that it is appointing Justice Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick as the chair of the State Board of Law Examiners.

The State Board of Law Examiners prepares and administers the bar examination for admission of attorneys.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Judge Ciparick’s ability and experience to serve in such an important post,” Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said. “The Board of Law Examiners is the gatekeeper that protects the quality and integrity of the legal profession. I am certain that Carmen Ciparick will lead the board with great distinction.”

Justice Ciparick, who currently serves as counsel at the Manhattan law firm of Greenberg Traurig, is best known for being an associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1994 through 2012, and she served as acting chief judge in January 2009.

Prior to sitting on the Court of Appeals, Justice Ciparick sat for 15 years as a judge in the New York City Criminal Court and the State Supreme Court. She had previously graduated from Hunter College and St. John’s University School of Law.

“I thank the chief judge and the Court of Appeals for this extraordinary opportunity to continue serving the profession, and I truly appreciate the confidence the court has placed in me,” said Justice Ciparick. “I look forward to working with my new colleagues and excellent staff at the Board of Law Examiners and working once again with the Court of Appeals.”

Justice Ciparick replaces Diane Bosse, who served on the Board of Law Examiners for 22 years, including the last 19 as its chair.

Ciparick takes over at a time when there has been controversy about when and how to hold this year’s bar exam. The plan is for recent law school graduates from New York to take it online along with students from eight states and Washington, D.C. These students would be able to practice law in New York and those other states taking the same exam.

However, there are concerns over technological challenges that other states have had when they hosted the bar exam online and the disproportionate impact taking the test online has on some of the poorer students.

There are bills in the State Legislature concerning the bar exam, including one that could give out “diploma privilege” that would allow recent graduates to become licensed attorneys without taking the test, and another that mandates that graduates practice for at least 100 hours with a supervising attorney before they are permanently admitted.