Bar exams are the bane of existence for most law school graduates who are required to pass those exams to practice in most places in the country. It is not just that bar exams are especially stressful and anxiety creating — because there is so much on the line. It is also because what the exams test is based on memorization of information, which may not be useful in future practice because a prudent lawyer should never rely on that information without additional and updated research. That is unless that lawyer is hankering for a meeting with his or her malpractice insurer.
Fortunately, after so many years of business-as-usual bar exams and so much criticism about the current way of testing competence for lawyers, the National Conference of Bar Examiners recently announced that pilot testing for the “Next Gen Bar Exam” will begin sometime in 2026.
Here is how the new version is described:
The revamped test won’t include questions on family law; estates and trusts, the Uniform Commercial Code; and conflict of laws. It will test aspiring attorneys in seven skills areas, including client counseling and advising; client relationships and management; legal research; legal writing; and negotiations. …
The new exam might provide test takers with foundational material about a deal and then ask them to identify the points they would stress during a negotiation, said exam redesign volunteer Deborah Jones Merritt at Thursday’s meeting. Or it could provide a transcript of a client counseling session and ask examinees to assess the lawyer’s performance, she said.
The new exam will also better balance litigation and transactional skills and recognize that lawyers often use reference materials rather than rely on memorized doctrinal law….
How refreshing. However, as always, the devil is in the details.
Read more about it here.
