ABA Journal, New York Will Adopt NextGen Bar Exam, Considers Surprising Shifts in State-Law Tests:
New York, the jurisdiction with the largest number of bar candidates, will adopt the NextGen bar exam as it considers rejiggering the state-specific part of the exam, too, according to the New York Court of Appeals.
The state, where 14,354 examinees took the bar exam in 2024, becomes the 30th jurisdiction to adopt the test, according to a Jan. 8 press release from the National Conference of Bar Examiners. …
[T]he notice posted Jan. 8 from the New York Court of Appeals states that a committee will develop “options for a robust New York-Specific bar eligibility requirement, … including the possibility of an in-person New York law component.”
The potential of using an in-person test “concerns me,” says Deborah Jones Merritt, professor emerita at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. “They might put that exam on the afternoon of the second day of NextGen, so that people would have to memorize rules for both the federal and general principles of NextGen and the New York-specific law. That would completely undercut the potential of what’s good about NextGen.”
- Law360, New York To Administer NCBE's NextGen Bar Exam In 2028
- New York Law Journal, New York Latest to Adopt NextGen Bar Exam
- Reuters, New York Will Give New Bar Exam in July 2028
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