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 is still the best way to evaluate would-be attorneys on the fundamental legal concepts that every lawyer should know.
In this first of a three-part series on the bar exam, the [Un]Common Law podcast will look at the arguments for and against preserving the bar exam.
In this episode we speak with:
- Alexis Ahlzadeh, recent graduate of Emory University School of Law, now an associate attorney with the Findling Law Firm in Atlanta, GA.
- Joe Patrice, a senior editor and writer at Above the Law.
- Roger Schechter, professor of law at George Washington University Law School.
- Johanna Miller, director of the Education Policy Center at the ACLU of New York.
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