State Bar recruits attorney panelists for bar exam study

The State Bar is recruiting attorneys to participate in evaluating the content tested on the bar exam by weighing in on the skills beginning lawyers need day to day.

The deadline for applying is Feb. 18.

The first step in a year-long attorney practice analysis study, the 12 to 15 member panel will meet for three days in San Francisco next month to help consultants develop topics and language for questions to be asked on a broader, statewide survey.

The bar will use the California Attorney Practice Analysis data on entry-level attorneys' daily work to evaluate potential changes to the exam's content as well as its format and cut score.

The survey will be distributed to California attorneys within their first five years of practice. The study is expected to be completed by December.

The bar is seeking panelists with at least three years of practice experience in a range of sectors, including private practice, government, academia and nonprofits.

The application form is available here.

The working group overseeing the study will meet Feb. 27 to outline panel and survey topics, according to working group chair Alan Steinbrecher.

In a previous interview with the Daily Journal, working group member and University of San Diego School of Law dean Stephen Ferruolo said he believes there's a disconnect between the bar exam's content and what attorneys need to know to practice.

"What attorneys all have in common are certain skills. Tests ought to focus more on those skills lawyers have in common and on the common base of knowledge" rather than specialized topics, he said.

This study follows a series of State Bar reports considering whether changes should be made to the State Bar exam in light of record-low pass rates. The most recent, a law school performance study, found a decline in entering student credentials contributed to less than half of the concurrent decline in bar exam results.

This practice analysis is a step toward elucidating other factors at play and will help determine if the bar exam's content is appropriately evaluating the skills attorneys need to practice.