Bar Exams

Is the bar exam being phased out?

With pass rates around the country dropping, many law schools are questioning whether their graduates should still have to pass the test before being allowed to practice.

By Marino Legal Academy  
on

With pass rates around the country dropping, many law schools are questioning whether their graduates should still have to pass the test before being allowed to practice. Many administrators are now publicly asking whether passing the exam is really the best bellwether of whether a J.D. is ready and able to become a successful lawyer.

The Iowa State Bar Association recently suggested implementing an in-state “diploma privilege” similar to what Wisconsin already uses, which would allow students to bypass the bar exam and begin practicing (only within the state of Iowa) immediately upon graduation. The Iowa State Supreme Court eventually rejected the proposal but is currently looking at other alternatives.

 

Perhaps the most interesting approach that has been fully undertaken is the one devised by The University of New Hampshire Law School.  It allows its 2Ls and 3Ls to partake in an apprenticeship where they learn real world “lawyering” skills. If a student is accepted into the school’s Daniel Webster Scholars Program, he or she maintains a work portfolio, which is reviewed by New Hampshire Bar Examiners after each semester. If students in the program receive satisfactory grades, they are allowed to skip the bar exam and go straight to practicing. The program is being viewed by other law school across the country as a potential model.

 

The question is: (1) Are these law schools sincere in their feelings that passing the bar exam is irrelevant to being a competent practitioner, or (2) Are they just panicked by the falling pass rates and trying to ensure that enrollment numbers do not plummet because potential students are scared away by the notion that they will be unable to pass the exam after graduation?

 

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If you are one of the many law students who were unsuccessful on the February 2015 bar exam, just email your score report to info@marinolegal.com and we will analyze your results for you completely free of charge and help you come up with a plan to make sure you pass on the next try.

Also, be sure to check out the Marino Bar Review Retaker Course, the only course designed specifically for students retaking the bar exam. For more information, click here.

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