For generations of would-be Utah attorneys, a daunting and often costly obstacle has stood between law school graduation and actually practicing law in the Beehive State: the bar exam.
That’s changing.
On Wednesday, the Utah State Bar announced the Utah Supreme Court has approved a second option for attorney licensure that will be administered by the USB.
Starting next year, law school grads can choose to pursue the “Alternate Pathway to Attorney Licensure” instead of passing the traditional Utah State Bar Exam, which will remain a licensing option.
The newly adopted licensing option is a “skills-based, practice-ready” route for people holding a Juris Doctor degree and seeking licensure in Utah.
It complements the existing bar exam format with a pathway that “reflects the evolving needs of both the profession, and the public,” according to a Utah State Bar report.
“We are pleased to offer an alternate path for licensure,” said Utah State Bar Executive Director Elizabeth Wright in the report.
“We were keenly aware that one size doesn’t fit all — and providing an option equips those who excel outside of a traditional exam with practical skills for a successful career in the legal profession.”
Utah’s alternate licensure pathway was developed by the Bar Admissions Working Group — a collection of judges, attorneys and academics established by the Utah Supreme Court.
Crafting the Alternate Pathway to Attorney Licensure comes in response to growing national and local calls for a licensure model “that better reflects real-world skills, reduces economic barriers and supports workforce readiness,” according to the state bar.
So how will the alternate ‘path’ for would-be Utah lawyers work?
Aspiring Utah lawyers can begin applying for the skills-based licensure model at the beginning of next year.
Among the program requirements are:
240 hours of supervised legal practice under a qualified attorney
Law school-required skills coursework
A written performance exam administered by the Utah State Bar
The hands-on approach anchoring the new licensure option is reportedly backed by “growing empirical research” that skills-based assessments are more effective at predicting future success for practicing lawyers than standardized tests alone.
Jurisdictions exploring similar models have reported that practice-based pathways produce attorneys who are more confident, better prepared and client-focused from Day 1.
Proponents of Utah’s Alternate Pathway to Attorney Licensure are not worried that the new option will lower licensure standards. Instead, they say, it enhances practical relevance — while preserving rigor.
“This is not about making it easier to become a lawyer,” said Utah Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice and Working Group Chair John A. Pearce, in the Utah State Bar release.
“It’s about making it smarter. This option gives graduates a financially viable way to begin practicing law without months of unpaid studying and the potential of thousands of dollars in prep costs.
“The Utah Supreme Court is convinced that this path will produce attorneys who are better prepared to immediately practice law.”
Law professor: The bar exam’s a ‘test of privilege’
Law school graduates aspiring to practice law in Utah will still have the option to take the traditional bar exam.
But now, would-be attorneys in the state have a choice to “pursue the pathway that best aligns with their learning style, financial situation and career goals,” according to the state bar.
Catherine Bramble, a Brigham Young University law professor who serves on the state’s bar admissions working group, told the Deseret News that the traditional bar exam is a standardized, stand-alone test that purports to gauge if an examinee is minimally competent to practice law.
“But there’s been growing concern,” she said, “about whether the bar exam is actually testing the right things in the right way.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the Utah State Bar was unable to administer its bar exam in person.
So Utah became the first state in the country to adopt an “emergency diploma privilege” where qualified individuals were able to perform 360 hours of legal practice and receive their law license without taking the bar exam.
“Utah led out, several states followed, and the sky didn’t fall — nothing happened,” said Bramble. “These students who had graduated from accredited law schools had a great experience and became licensed attorneys — and they went on to be just fine.”
Those events prompted the state’s high court to create the task force that developed the alternate licensure pathway announced Wednesday.
The “on-the-job” requirements of Alternate Pathway to Attorney Licensure offer applicants opportunities to work with seasoned Utah lawyers performing the day-to-day business of lawyering, said Bramble.
Meanwhile, the alternate path’s written test component, said Bramble, reflects what attorneys do in legal practice.
“It’s an ‘attorney skills exam’ that practicing attorneys today should be able to take and pass without taking three months to take a (bar exam) prep class that costs thousands of dollars or memorize thousands of pieces of law, which is really artificial for the practice of law.”
Bramble emphasized the economical aspects of the state’s new attorney licensure option. The profession, it’s hoped, will now be more accessible to more people.
A California study, noted Bramble, revealed that the most common predictor of whether someone would fail the bar exam was if they had to work during their preparation.
“The bar exam has literally become a test of privilege,” observed Bramble. “Can you afford a $4,000 bar prep class — and can you afford to take 10 to 12 weeks to study full time, which is a massive cost of time and resources?”
Meanwhile, aspiring attorneys who choose Utah’s new alternate pathway will be required to engage in 50 hours of pro bono work. That’s expected to directly benefit Utah citizens — including those who might lack financial access to the legal system.
“In addition, research has shown that when attorneys engage in pro bono work early in their careers, they are more likely to do it later in their careers,” said Bramble.
The law professor added that Utah’s legal community “really stepped up” to fill supervising-attorney roles during the pandemic-prompted “emergency diploma privilege” period.
She anticipates similar support from the state’s lawyers and law firms with the newly announced alternative pathway.
Will Utah firms hesitate to hire attorneys who did not take the bar exam?
When the Utah Supreme Court initiated the emergency diploma licensing privilege in 2020, some local lawyers pushed back — saying they would never hire someone who had not passed the bar exam.
But time has proven that Utah lawyers who were licensed during the pandemic had opportunity to start their careers sooner — and they are enjoying successful careers today, said Bramble.
“I’ve never met a 2020 diploma privilege grad who said they were discriminated against in any way, shape or form. They have a license — and they practice law like everybody else.”
Utah’s Alternate Pathway to Attorney Licensure is already drawing interest outside the state’s borders. Over the past day, Bramble has been interviewed by reporters from Reuters, NPR and a prominent national legal website.
“The cool part about the Utah alternate path is it is replicable in any jurisdiction,” she said.
“Our hope is not that this will simply benefit Utah attorneys and Utah citizens … but also that other states will take notice.”