To make this idea of sharing data possible there are a couple of hurdles: Will the BarAlliance system support the exchange of information between organizations? And: Is a Bar allowed to share its information with another Bar? The first one is a question of programming and can be dealt with as part of the system’s architecture.
The second one is the greater challenge as it requires a review of existing policy and a change in existing culture. The upside is that, with the possible exception of the CLE departments, Bars do not compete against each other. The fact that it is possible for Bars to cooperate make this second challenge surmountable. The bottom line on this is that Bars have to do this anyway. As reciprocity and MJP continue to grow the sharing of information is inevitable. The question is just how to do this in a timely manner while maintaining everyone’s comfort level. Some see that the growing Bar Consortium as the facilitator and voluntary standards body to deal with the policy and procedure questions so that Bars do not have to tackle this issue over and over again.
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