Putting the Bar Exam to the Test: An Examination of the Predictive Validity of Bar Exam Outcomes on Lawyering Effectiveness

Authors

Jason M. Scott, AccessLex Institute
Stephen N. Goggin, San Diego State University
Rick Trachok, Nevada Board of Bar Examiners
Jenny S. Kwon, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
Sara Gordon, Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia
Dean Gould
Fletcher S. Hiigel, AccessLex Institute
Leah Chan Grinvald, University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School of Law
David Faigman, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

4-2023

Keywords

minimum competence, bar examinations, lawyering effectiveness, legal licensing, legal profession

Abstract

How well does bar exam performance, on the whole, predict lawyering effectiveness? Is performance on some components of the bar exam more predictive? The current study, the first of its kind to measure the relationship between bar exam scores and a new lawyer’s effectiveness, evaluates these questions by combining three unique datasets—bar results from the State Bar of Nevada, a survey of recently admitted lawyers, and a survey of supervisors, peers, and judges who were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of recently-admitted lawyers. We find that performance on both the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) and essay components of the Nevada Bar have little relationship with the assessed lawyering effectiveness of new lawyers, calling into question the usefulness of these tests.