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 Law School, now an associate attorney with the Findling Law Firm based 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.