If you’re reading this, chances are you have heard that the bar exam is undergoing a makeover, and chances are you have an opinion (and likely a strong one) about the massive changes on the horizon for the NextGen Bar Exam.
On March 15, the Washington Supreme Court issued orders to adopt a new format of the bar exam and adopt concept recommendations for three additional pathways to attorney licensure—but calls to revitalize or replace the bar exam date back at least 50 years. In the February 1977 issue of Bar News, for example, members of an investigative committee tasked with addressing the bar exam penned an article to determine “Is the Bar Exam Good Enough?” What they found is, in short, not really. According to those authors, the exam disadvantaged applicants from historically marginalized groups: “Certain client constituencies therefore may be less effectively represented than they would have been had those candidates been admitted to the bar.”
Today, conclusions surrounding the bar exam are largely the same:
“Looking at the history of the bar exam more broadly across the nation, the Washington Bar Licensure Task Force observed: ‘The creation of the bar exam coincided with the first Civil Rights Act in 1875. After three Black lawyers were unintentionally granted membership in the ABA in 1914, their membership was revoked and a meeting was convened to discuss keeping the profession ‘pure.’ A mandatory bar exam was part of the proposed solution.’”
And today’s decisionmakers have outlined a path for change, which you can learn about in the latest issue of Washington State Bar News. In the new issue, we’ve got answers to some of the most pressing questions about the NextGen Bar Exam and other changes coming to attorney licensure in Washington. (While you’re reading up on the bar exam, check out who passed the Winter 2024 Lawyer Bar Exam in Washington.)
In addition, you can find other columns and features on a variety of other important legal topics. In this issue, the WSBA Office of Disciplinary Counsel and the Office of General Counsel provide a snapshot of what happened with the WSBA discipline system in 2023. Mark Fucile looks at the risk management considerations lawyers should make when they interact with both human and non-human virtual assistants. David J.S. Ziff explains what you should know about the “rule of five” when it comes to the “messy” calculations behind Washington Supreme Court opinions. Jessica L. Goldman then helps analyze Washington’s anti-SLAPP statute in recent Court of Appeals decisions.
We also have a recap of Gonzaga School of Law’s recent LGBTQ+ Rights and Advocacy Summit, disciplinary notices, coverage of the WSBA 50-year members’ celebration, and more.
