The traditional route to becoming a lawyer in the United States is to spend three years and tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars on a law school education, and then spend another two months and another few thousand dollars preparing for the bar exam.
If you think there has to be a better way, you’re not alone. Earlier this year, the ABA endorsed alternative pathways to attorney licensing beyond the traditional bar exam, as a growing number of states establish other methods that focus more on experiential learning. For example:
- Four states currently offer alternatives to the bar exam: New Hampshire, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. That number may soon increase to five if a proposal in Utah is adopted. Other states, including Minnesota and Nevada, are also evaluating potential curricular and supervised practice-based alternatives to the bar exam.
- Although California recently rejected a proposal to replace the bar exam, it is one of four states — along with Vermont, Virginia, and Washington — offering routes to licensure that don’t require attending law school. Prospective attorneys can complete apprenticeship or self-study programs in lieu of law school, although they still have to pass the bar exam.
The Fifth-Year Dilemma: Do I Stay Or Do I Go (In-House)?
How to make the right decision, and why there might be another way to shape a fulfilling legal career on your own terms.
Earlier: Utah May Add A New Path To Practicing Law
California Holds On Tight To Its Notoriously Difficult Bar Exam
Nevada Could Join Growing Number Of States With Alternatives To The Bar