The Washington State Supreme Court officially abolished the traditional bar exam requirement for aspiring lawyers Friday due to its perceived negative impact on minorities.
The Supreme Court has announced that the bar exam is no longer a requirement for those who aspire to be practicing lawyers. The Bar Licensure Task Force claims that the exam is only minimally effective in measuring competency and noted its unfair barrier to marginalized communities aspiring to practice law, according to the Washington Administrative Office of the Courts. The Task Force on Bar Licensure found that the usual bar exam unfairly stops people from underrepresented groups from entering the legal profession. The exam is not good at measuring if someone is qualified.
Washington has followed Oregon in getting rid of the bar exam requirement, making it the second state to do so after Oregon. Other states like Minnesota, Nevada, South Dakota, and Utah are looking into different ways to license lawyers, the Spokesman-Review reported.