Would adoption of the UBE lead to more job options? 89% of surveyed 2016 law grads think so
Out of 1,000 recent law school graduates surveyed by Kaplan Bar Review, 91 percent wanted all states to adopt the uniform bar exam. Eighty-nine percent thought that the change would provide more employment options, and 38 percent reported that it was easier to study for the UBE.
In 2013, a similar Kaplan study found that 80 percent of recent law school graduates supported all states adopting the UBE exam, according to a press release.
The UBE is a combination of the Multistate Bar Exam, the Multistate Essay Examination and the Multistate Performance Test. It is coordinated by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. New York and New Mexico are the most recent of 26 states that have adopted the UBE. New York saw a rise in its July 2016 bar exam pass rate, while New Mexico’s dropped. In some states the UBE is harder than the state-specific exam, while in others it’s easier, said Tammi Rice, vice president and general manager of Kaplan Bar Review, in the press release. The company’s offerings include preparatory study courses for the UBE.
In February at the ABA Midyear Meeting, the ABA House of Delegates adopted two resolutions concerning the UBE. One urged bar admission authorities to “adopt expeditiously” the UBE, and the other asked them to consider the impact on minorities of adopting the UBE and to consider including subjects such as Indian law, which is important in some regions but not covered by the UBE.
