‘Serious Reexamination’ of Bar Exam Looms as Grads Sit for Test

Over the last several decades critics have taken aim at the bar exam, arguing that it’s outmoded, discriminatory, and simply ineffective as a barometer of legal competence.

Reforms have been slow to come—but the pandemic, and the temporary fixes for 2020 adopted as a result by state authorities, may lead to longer-term improvements to a lawyer licensing system that has historically resisted change.

As state after state has struggled with how to administer the bar exam in the wake of the pandemic—or ask if the test should be given at all—one thing has become clear: The traditional bar exam soon ...