Law Schools

Nevada Could Join Growing Number Of States With Alternatives To The Bar

California ditching the bar really set the ball rolling!

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No. 2 PencilThe NextGen bar exam was poised as the shoo-in successor to the old-and-busted version, but new challengers are popping up left and right. The binary discussions centering around the bar or diploma privilege has opened to include other options like bar score wiggle room and supervised practice to really get at what the bar is meant to test for — minimal competency — without the baggage that comes with it. Reuters recently covered Nevada’s approach to the step between J.D. and Esq.:

The Nevada Supreme Court has “agreed to proceed” with an alternative lawyer licensing process that includes several traditional bar exam test components as well as a supervised practice requirement, according to a Tuesday memo from Nevada Board of Bar Examiners Chairman Richard Trachok.

Nevada’s route to practice will have three parts that can be finished in law school. What a wild notion that learning to think like a lawyer and verifying lawyer competency can be concurrent! While this does move us closer to the end goal of law schools producing competent enough students who they can walk from the stage to their jobs, there will still be some perfecting steps:

Under the Nevada Plan, aspiring lawyers will take a 100-question multiple-choice test on foundational law offered four times a year at testing centers, as early as the end of their third semester of law school. They must also complete 40 to 60 hours of supervised practice — a requirement that can be fulfilled through a clinic, pro bono work at a law firm or externships while in law school. The process concludes with a one-day performance test offered soon after the end of their last semester of law school.

It looks like the plan will still need some tinkering, but the Nevada Supreme Court has said that an official announcement will drop within a year. Best of luck to Nevada!

Nevada Sets Unique Alternative For Lawyer Licensing, Rejects New National Bar Exam [Reuters]

Earlier: Is The NextGen Bar Really Next Up?
Kaplan Steps In To Dig California Bar Office Out Of Bankruptcy Hole
Arizona Offers Alternate Path To Practice After Almost Passing Bar

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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