ABA Legal Ed council moves forward on alternative pathways to the bar
As more states approve methods beyond taking an exam to join the bar, the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar voted Friday to allow law schools to count those who successfully complete those pathways to count toward the mandatory 75% of graduates who must pass the bar within two years to meet accreditation standards.
The revisions to Standard 316, the bar passage standard, and Standard 509, which covers required disclosures, will be submitted to the House of Delegates for consideration in August.
In February, the standards committee suggested modernizing Standard 316, restating it as “satisfactory completion of an assessment of competency for licensure, such as a bar exam or other assessment recognized in the jurisdiction.”
“We felt it was very important to align the standard with what’s going on now in the country, where there are states who have alternatives to the bar exam and who are considering it,” said Mary Lu Bilek, a council member, “so they know that we’re sending the message that those work under our standards.”
The new pathways—such as those established in recent years in Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Nevada—allow graduates from ABA-accredited law schools to earn licensure through supervised practice or a combination of academic and work experience.
Diploma privilege in Wisconsin, which is available to students who graduate from one of the state’s two ABA-accredited law schools, and the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program, which is a two-year, practice-based pathway for University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law students, have been covered by the current standard.
The changes were sent out for comment in February and received seven comments.
The move follows a 2025 report by the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform, a group established by the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators focused on preparation of new lawyers. The report stated that “innovative pathways” to a law license, such as supervised practice after law school, could help address access to justice as well as practice readiness.
The council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is an independent arm of the ABA and recognized by the Department of Education as the sole accrediting body for U.S. law schools.
See also:
Pathway Pioneers: A look at supervised practice bar alternatives in 2 states
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