In all U.S. jurisdictions except Wisconsin, passing a bar exam is a requirement to obtain a license to practice law. However, the Covid-19 pandemic forced some state authorities to adopt alternative paths to licensure for recent law school graduates.
In the wake of those changes, criticism of the bar exam has blossomed into a movement to reform or eliminate the test altogether. These critics argue that the bar exam, “is an outmoded, discriminatory, and simply ineffective as a barometer of legal competence,” according to Bloomberg Law’s Sam Skolnik. While defenders of the status-quo argue that the bar ...