Law Schools

Oregon's Supreme Court Could Greenlight Hands-On Bar Exam Replacement

Way to go, Oregon!

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Oregon has a lot going for it, like… the mountains! Okay, that’s one thing, but they’re working on increasing their appeal to an audience whose passions include more than Birkenstocks and granola. Who better to start with than fresh JDs? An alternative to the bar exam is in the works that will address accusations that the bar doesn’t really do a good job of assessing test takers’ aptitudes toward their jobs. A revamped licensing program hinges on a judgment to come from Oregon’s Supreme Court. From Reuters:

Oregon is poised to become the first U.S. state to adopt a large-scale attorney licensing pathway that does not involve taking and passing the bar exam or graduating from an in-state law school.

The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday will vote on a proposal to allow law school graduates to become licensed after working for 675 hours under the supervision of an experienced attorney, as an alternative to the bar exam.

Six hundred seventy five hours reads like a steep time investment — especially when compared to the traditional route of getting your law firm to pay for your BARBRI courses. BARBRI projects a course load of 40 hours’ worth of work over an 8-10 week period. And while that would leave you with a couple hundred additional hours to get to billing or catching up on One Piece, the actual amount of time that most people spend on bar prep is much closer to Oregon’s 675 figure.  Even if the new program does take longer than staring at Richard Freer teach Civ Pro, the extra time could be a small price to pay for someone who would much rather a hands-on approach. In addition to the 675 hours, apprentices will also have to submit multiple pieces of legal writing, play a lead role in at least two client interviews, lead two negotiations, the list goes on. One other huge change? They get paid for their work!

It’s probably too soon to say that the Oregon bar will be going the way of the dodo — the traditional route will still be available for people who want to opt out of the hands-on experience. Not sure why you’d do that, but people make bad decisions all the time. Bar takers and apprentices will have their paperwork graded by Oregon’s bar examiners, so it really is a pick your poison type of deal.

I applaud any step in the right direction, that direction being the adoption of and normalization of diploma privilege. Which Oregon is also working on!

Oregon bar examiners plan to develop a second alternative licensing pathway in which students at the state’s three law schools would spend their last two years of law school completing practice-based coursework.

The Beaver State is doing a damn good job with legal education reform! Let’s hope the court does the right thing.

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Oregon Supreme Court To Vote On Bar Exam Alternative [Reuters]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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