After reading the article, “Hand-Up or Handout? The Americans with Disabilities Act and
“Unreasonable accommodation” of learning disabled bar applicants: toward a new paradigm”, I
was completely outraged by the preferential treatment people feel they deserve.
In the case of “W”, her school labeled her as having a learning disability because of
score differences on similar exams. However, in the case of “B” who scored poorly on the state
assessment exam was not labeled as having a learning disability. Her IQ was slightly above
average, she learned to compensate through diligent work yet she failed the bar examination
twice and her request for extra time was denied. “W” was labeled has a slow learner. After
reading these two cases, I asked myself what was the difference between these two scenarios?
Nothing was different, same situation, different labels. With “W”, her parents were thrilled she
was going to receive special treatment where “B’s” mom helped her with her studies and
eventually went on to graduate law school.
Requesting extra time for the bar examination is an unfair advantage. This is unfair to
those students who have a comparable academic status. Many of the applicants feel they were
given extra time with their SAT and LSAT therefore they should be granted extra time on the
bar, yet they had normal results. The ability to work within a deadline is a skill needed to be a
competent lawyer, therefore I don’t feel any extra time should be given just to those that have
a learning disability. If any extra time is going to be given, it should be given to as a whole as
everyone could benefit from the extra time allotment.