The bar exam is an infamously intense and exacting test of legal knowledge, and for centuries, has stood as a rite of passage for new attorneys. The first bar exam in the United States was administered in 1783, in Delaware, then a colony of Great Britain. In the long years since, the bar exam has transformed from an oral exam proctored by local judges and attorneys, to a formal exam administered over multiple days in some jurisdictions. Oregon’s bar exam takes two full days. Each state has its own rituals and requirements for their respective bar exams. Some states (but not Oregon) even require the test-taker to appear wearing court dress – a suit and tie, or similar formal business wear.
Effective May 2024, Oregon will make the bar exam optional for new attorneys. Instead, law school graduates can spend 675 hours working with a licensed Oregon attorney. They will need to produce a portfolio of their work, and that work will be evaluated by the Oregon State Board of Bar Examiners instead of sitting for a daylong test. Movement for an alternative to a mass-administered formal test built during the lockdown and pandemic, as the costs and challenges of test administration clashed with the realities of public health.
Beginning in May, 2024, many new lawyers will have the option of getting to work without waiting for exam results. They will have their suitability to practice law judged by the work they perform under the supervision of a senior attorney, instead. There is currently no word that the bar exam will be removed or eliminated, and new attorneys will still have the option to sit for the exam. Without the bar exam, attorneys will not be eligible for admission to the bar in any other state, so observers anticipate law students will still mostly choose to participate in the exam.
Proponents of the new pathway to bar admission argue that the new system allows for a much clearer picture of an applicant’s ability and capacity to perform good, ethical work for clients. Some opponents have pointed out that this new option creates a different and arguably more substantial workload for bar examiners than grading a twice a year multiple choice and essay exam. It remains to be seen whether this new system or systems like it will supplant the bar exam, which has so long been a cornerstone of starting legal practice.
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