The State Bar seeks public comment on the report to be submitted by the Blue Ribbon Commission to the Supreme Court. The report includes recommendations on what the future California Bar Exam should include, as well as detail on how the commission was unable to gain consensus on a recommendation for a nonexam alternative.
This comment process has been archived. View the interactive dashboard of public comment submissions.
Deadline: April 10, 2023, 11:59 p.m.
On October 26, 2020, the California Supreme Court adopted the charter for the Joint Supreme Court/State Bar Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of the California Bar Exam. The commission was “charged with developing recommendations concerning whether and what changes to make to the California Bar Exam, and whether to adopt alternative or additional testing or tools to ensure minimum competence to practice law.”
In July 2021, the commission embarked on carrying out their ambitious charge, and immediately began its exploration of two separate paths to licensure—a bar exam and an alternative pathway. The bar exam pathway had to address two fundamental questions: (1) should a bar exam continue to be used as a path to licensure; and (2) if so, should the exam be developed by California, testing California law, or should California adopt the National Conference of Bar Examiners' (NCBE) NextGen Bar Exam. The bar exam alternative pathway also had two foundational questions (1) is a bar exam alternative an appropriate method to determine minimum competence in California; and (2) if so, which of the following components should be included in a California bar exam alternative pathway: a change to law school curriculum, a post-law school supervised practice program, and assessments, whether exams, simulations, portfolio review or a capstone project. Over the course of seventeen months, the commission heard from jurisdictions in other states and countries, law schools and nonprofit agencies, psychometricians and academics, and those from other fields to learn about the different options for ensuring minimum competence and licensing new lawyers. This report highlights the information considered by the Commission and the recommendations being advanced to the Supreme Court.
The Blue Ribbon Commission recommended that the State Bar Board of Trustees and the Supreme Court pursue a California-specific bar exam.
The Blue Ribbon Commission also recommended that the Supreme Court revise the requirements for licensed, out-of-state attorneys to be admitted to California without sitting for the California Bar Exam. The Blue Ribbon Commission additionally recommended that the Supreme Court defer the decision to modify the admissions requirements for foreign attorneys and foreign-educated applicants until the new California Bar Exam has been implemented.
The Blue Ribbon Commission did not gain consensus on any of the proposed bar exam alternative motions considered.
The proposal has the potential for vast fiscal and personnel impacts. It is too premature to accurately depict the extent of the impact. For example, there is no vendor selected to develop a state-of-the-art exam to replace the California Bar Exam. However, based on what is known about the NCBE’s NextGen exam, this is a costly endeavor.
Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of the Bar Exam
April 10, 2023, 11:59 p.m.
[This comment process has been archived. View the interactive dashboard of public comment submissions.]
Report from the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of the California Bar Exam