Law deans meet with state Supreme Court on bar exam

Law school deans met Wednesday with four California Supreme Court justices to discuss a wide variety of topics related to the bar exam, a potentially unprecedented session both sides praised afterward as productive.

The in-person gathering at the court in San Francisco was one the deans had long sought to highlight issues such as the passing standard on the bar exam, which the deans have recommended be reduced to align with the cut scores in other large states. California's standard is the second-highest in the nation behind Delaware and has drawn renewed scrutiny in recent years amid record-low bar exam passage rates.

The American Bar Association's adoption of an accreditation standard earlier this year requiring 75 percent of a law school's graduates who sit for the bar to pass it within two years has raised the stakes even more for deans, who have also highlighted concerns about the impact of the cut score on diversity of the profession.

The conversation Wednesday lasted a little more than an hour and also touched on the bar's inadvertent release of test topics prior to the July 2019 exam, said Stephen C. Ferruolo, dean of the University of San Diego School of Law.

"We all felt it was a really good dialogue," Ferruolo said. "They asked a lot of questions. We asked questions. I was impressed with how well-informed they were about the issues."

Deans representing all three types of law schools in California, including American Bar Association-accredited institutions, were present at the meeting.

The court was represented by Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, and Justices Carol A. Corrigan, Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar and Joshua P. Groban.

"It was a useful informational session as part of the court's ongoing dialogue on issues relating to its administrative arm, the State Bar of California," said Cathal Conneely, a spokesman for the court. "The meeting was an opportunity for stakeholders to share their perspectives on a range of topics from their current agenda."

The State Bar was not represented at the meeting. "The meeting was requested by the deans with the court, so that's who attended," Conneely said.

Ferruolo said the deans plan to keep in touch with the bar as well. No concrete action steps were agreed to, he said, but both sides hope to maintain an ongoing dialogue about the bar exam.

"We pledged to continue to cooperate in any way we can," Ferruolo said.

The court decided in October 2017 to keep the bar exam passing score in place, saying it was "not persuaded that the relevant information and data developed at this time weigh in favor of departing from the longstanding pass score."

However, the court has been monitoring studies the bar has conducted in recent years related to the exam, Ferruolo said, and shared it was looking forward to the completion in the coming months of the California Attorney Practice Analysis (CAPA).

The bar has said that study "will provide current information about the knowledge and skills expected of entry-level California attorneys to set the foundation for evaluating the format, content alignment, and pass line of the California Bar Exam."

Mitch Winick, dean of state-accredited Monterey College of Law, was one of the meeting participants representing non-ABA schools. Unaccredited schools registered with the bar were also represented.

"We were very appreciative that the court thought it important to include representatives from all three categories of law schools ... in the discussion," Winick said in a statement after the meeting. "Upon completion of the CAPA study, we look forward to additional discussions about the future of the bar exam with the court and other important stakeholders."

The court also shared that its independent investigation of the leak of bar exam test topics was ongoing, Ferruolo said. The bar has said it is conducting its own review.

The other deans in attendance Wednesday were David L. Faigman of UC Hastings College of the Law, Jennifer L. Mnookin of UCLA School of Law, Jackie Gardina of the Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law, Greg Brandes of St. Francis School of Law, Martin Pritikin of Concord Law School at Purdue University Global and Jessica Park of Abraham Lincoln University School of Law.

Brian Purtill of Empire College School of Law in Santa Rosa was unable to attend due to the fires in that region.