With Missouri Move, Idea of Uniform Bar Exam Finally Gets Legs
Missouri has become the first state to replace its bar exam with a uniform test that could help make lawyers more mobile.
Test-takers won’t see the new exam until February, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Other jurisdictions considering a uniform exam include Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Washington, D.C., USA Today reported last November. Students who pass the uniform exam won’t automatically gain bar admission in other states that adopt the test, the Post-Dispatch says. States will set their own passing grades and other criteria for bar admission, and may decide to accept the test results for only a limited period.
Erica Moeser, president of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, applauded Missouri’s move. “The idea is to have lawyers moving across state borders with greater ease,” she told the Post-Dispatch. “That’s a huge benefit to new law graduates in these economically uncertain times.”
According to Moeser, the idea of the uniform exam “has been kicking around for decades, and it’s finally gotten legs.”
Additional coverage:
LegalRebels.com: “Erica Moeser: A Bar for All”
