Reuters, California Could Be Next State to Bypass the Bar Exam:

The State Bar of California is contemplating a new admissions pathway that would allow law graduates to become licensed without taking the bar exam.

The State Bar’s Board of Trustees on Thursday unanimously voted to gather public comments on a proposed new program in which law graduates would receive provisional licenses and work under the supervision of an experienced attorney for four to six months while being paid. During that time, candidates would compile a portfolio of work that would be graded by the state bar. Those who earn a passing grade on their portfolios would become fully licensed in California without taking the bar exam. …

The Portfolio Bar Exam is similar to California’s Provisional License program, which ran from 2020 to 2022 and enabled certain law graduates to practice under supervision while skipping or delaying the bar exam during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s also akin to a program in the works in neighboring Oregon, which is awaiting final adoption by the Oregon Supreme Court. That program would allow law graduates to become licensed after 675 hours of supervised work and the submission of a portfolio of legal work.

The Recorder, State Bar to Pursue Licensing Alternative to Traditional Bar Exam:

State bar leaders on Friday voted to pursue the creation of an alternative pathway to becoming a licensed lawyer in California that does not include passing the notoriously difficult bar exam.

The unanimous vote bypassed a deadlocked commission that, after 19 meetings, could not reach a consensus in its final report on whether law school graduates should be admitted to the bar after they complete some combination of supervised work, a portfolio of accomplishments or an alternative assessment in lieu of taking the traditional bar exam alone.

The trustees said they will forward the commission’s final report to the California Supreme Court, but also asked members of the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of the Bar Exam who support an alternative pathway to develop a proposal later this year.