The Hill Op-Ed: NextGen Bar Exam Elevates Legal Competence, Streamlines Interstate Practice, by Hon. Clint Bolick (Arizona Supreme Court) & Hon. G. Barry Anderson (Minnesota Supreme Court (retired)):
As a current Arizona Supreme Court justice and a retired Minnesota Supreme Court justice, we both served on the judicial advisory committee convened to inform the development of the new exam, many of whose recommendations were included in the final product.
We fully endorse the NextGen exam as a rigorous, client-focused assessment of legal doctrine and lawyering skills that additionally serves to facilitate license portability across the U.S. — a longstanding conservative priority.
Both of our states have adopted the new bar exam, which will be first given in July 2026, and in our jurisdictions in July 2027. Both courts engaged in thorough review processes that included evaluation of doctrine and skills content in the exam, results from pilot and prototype testing, and other relevant information. …
We—and our colleagues across the country — took our responsibility seriously in evaluating the NextGen bar exam. Forty-one states and territories have now adopted it, bringing the testing of prospective lawyers into the 21st Century. …
At no point has the National Conference of Bar Examiners asserted that its purpose in developing the NextGen exam was to make it easier than the current bar exam, as some have recently and falsely claimed [The NextGen Bar Exam Is DEI In Action, Dangerously Lowering Standards]. …
By the time the NextGen exam launches, over 10,500 third-year law students and new lawyers will have tested the content through pilot, field, prototype, and beta administrations. All NextGen bar exam questions generate performance statistics that are analyzed by psychometricians, attorney test editors, and subject matter experts to assure appropriate difficulty, clarity, and suitability for a high-stakes licensure exam.
From our perspective, the new bar exam will measure not simply book learning, but the demonstrated ability to practice law. Members of the legal profession from across the political spectrum should support this change.
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