Nevada Supreme Court OKs three-pronged bar exam
Updated: The Nevada Supreme Court gave its blessing to a three-pronged bar exam—comprised of a 100-question closed-book multiple-choice exam, a performance test and supervised practice—that will launch in February 2027.
The new Nevada Comprehensive Licensing Examination will include a written closed-book exam given four times a year in test centers that candidates can take after completing 42 JD credits; three two-hour performance tests given after graduation; and 60 hours of supervised hands-on experience with clients via law school clinics or externships before admission to the bar.
Deborah Jones Merritt, a professor emerita at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, calls the plan “sensible,” adding that “this is a win for candidates, law schools, the profession and—most of all—clients.”
“Nevada is accomplishing this without putting new burdens on bar examiners, law schools or the candidates themselves,” Merritt adds.
With the go-ahead from the Nevada Supreme Court in place, qualified students anywhere in the country can begin supervised practice or work at a qualified clinical program at an ABA-accredited law school as soon as January 2026, says Richard Trachok II, the chair of Nevada’s Board of Bar Examiners. Lawyers who are licensed in other states and have practiced for at least six months are exempt from this requirement, he adds.
Staring in May 2026, Trachok says, out-of-state attorneys or law students in the class of 2027 can take the first offering of the Nevada Foundational Law Exam, which tests general principles to be posted on the Nevada Bar Examiner’s website.
“Since these 20 general principles for each subject are well within the current curricula of ABA law schools, it is not anticipated that law schools will need to make any changes,” he says. By testing closer to the time when students took related coursework, “evidence shows that the material is retained by the student,” he adds.
Then in January 2027, law school graduates can sit for the Lawyering Performance Exam, Trachock says.
“We hope that many candidates will succeed on this pathway without needing to invest in expensive bar prep courses that take time away from paid employment,” Merritt says.
Nevada will continue administering the current bar examination through July 2026.
Currently, Nevada’s bar exam consists of six one-hour essay questions prepared by the State Bar of Nevada’s Board of Bar Examiners; the Multistate Bar Examination; and two two-hour foundational skills questions applying fundamental lawyering skills in realistic situations, according to the bar’s website.
The plan for a new bar exam has been in the works for four years, Trachok says.
To develop multiple-choice questions for the first leg of the exam, Merritt will co-chair a team of subject matter experts along with fellow 2025 Legal Rebel Joan Howarth, the author of Shaping the Bar: The Future of Attorney Licensing.
“We have a full year to do that and have already done much of the groundwork,” Merritt adds.
In May 2024, the Nevada Board of Examiners had “indicated a desire” to use the State Bar of California’s Kaplan-developed multiple-choice test but chose to not partner with the neighboring state before its disastrous launch of the February exam.
Still, the Nevada Bar learned lessons by closely watching California’s myriad of problems, according to Trachok. “California’s changes were driven by fiscal emergency and Nevada’s by better licensing,” he says.
Nevada’s move follows the May 2024 decision by the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar to allow states to use methods of licensure beyond the bar exam. The change intends to serve as a way to close the access to justice gap and serve underrepresented communities, proponents say.
In 2024, Oregon launched a popular apprenticeship program as a method to licensure without taking the bar; Washington followed but also included a skills coursework option; and in February, South Dakota approved a pathway requiring 500 hours of public service. Delaware and Minnesota are currently considering proposals to license attorneys without the bar exam. Wisconsin already offers diploma privilege to graduates of its two law schools, and New Hampshire offers several ways to pass the bar, including completion of specialized courses.
See also:
Nevada green-lights three-pronged plan to licensure
Updated May 28 at 6:03 p.m. to remove an erroneous reference to the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ plans concerning the MBE.
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