It’s no secret that many are worried about the future of the legal industry. Is reworking the Bar exam the answer?

Today the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates consider a resolution from the ABA’s Law Student Division that calls for all jurisdictions to adopt the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE). Since Missouri became the first state to adopt the test five years ago, it’s been adopted in 19 states—but many larger legal markets have not. But offering more portability across state lines is a major draw for its supporters.

Photo Credit: Forrest August cc
Photo Credit: Forrest August cc

People have been scrambling for some way to fix the early years of the legal industry has been in the headlines for a couple years, since the “law school crisis” resulted in the first drop in nationwide bar exam scores. Overhauling the bar exam to the UBE would just be one way supporters say to prevent non-lawyers from further encroaching on the legal services offered by lawyers. And, as The New York Times notes, it would help bring the bar exam closer to the practicalities of a 21st century practice:

However, [New York’s Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman] said, he changed his mind as he considered that lawyers now often relocate, or handle cases involving multiple states or countries. Judge Lippman also noted, in his remarks as prepared for the speech, given on Tuesday in Albany, that “employment prospects for recent graduates are still grim” and that law-school enrollment in New York had dropped 23 percent since 2010. The universal exam allows for better job prospects because it offers more flexibility, he said.

“We recognize it’s a global world and there has to be portability with the law license around the country,” Judge Lippman said in an interview. “We think we would be sticking our heads in the sand if we don’t realize the practice of law doesn’t stop at state lines.”

Supporters argue that the ability for states to still set their own standards—passing scores, additional local exams—means that variables that do exist across state lines can still be accounted for.

But there are some who disagree. As Professor Joseph Marino notes for Above the Law, those extra state requirements make the new boss the same as the old boss:

With New York adopting the UBE, many states will follow and are likely to adopt the New York model and add mandatory local tests. While the UBE score may be portable, the student still faces taking what is essentially another bar exam for whichever state they wish admittance. If that is indeed what happens, then this begs the question: how has the switch to the UBE really made things easier on students?

The UBE should not be just a uniform test that has a portable score that states use as part of their testing process. For there to be true portability, the UBE should be a Universal Bar Exam. If a state wants to test local law, then it should keep the local state bar exam. The hybrid UBE approach, adding an additional yet separate local test, only makes the process more difficult for students, not easier.

Will this be the solution that finally puts the legal industry back on the up-and-up (and helps all those law students who can’t find jobs—and are suing)? Right now, that may be up to the ABA to decide.