Oregon Supreme Court OKs License Path Without Bar Exam

The Oregon Supreme Court has approved a unique new way to become a licensed attorney that doesn't involve passing the current bar exam.

On Tuesday, the court unanimously approved the Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination, or SPPE, which enables the Oregon Bar to admit law school graduates to practice following an assessment of their demonstrated ability to practice law.

The change comes after years of work on attorney licensure reform by two law schools, the Oregon Supreme Court, the Oregon State Bar, the Oregon Board of Bar Examiners and many volunteer lawyers, a bar spokesperson said Wednesday.

"It's been a long road," Brian Gallini, Willamette University College of Law dean and longtime advocate for a more equitable and skills-focused approach to attorney licensure, told Law360 Pulse Wednesday in an interview. 

With SPPE, upon successful completion of 675 hours of practice under the supervision of an experienced attorney — the time most people spend studying for the bar exam — candidates for licensure can submit a portfolio of work to the Board of Bar Examiners for an independent evaluation of their proficiency, Willamette said in an announcement.

Members of the Oregon legal community began questioning whether the state should consider a new approach to licensure shortly after the Oregon Supreme Court's historic vote to grant emergency diploma privilege to the Class of 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gallini said the SPPE provides a more inclusive and scalable alternative to the bar exam. At first, opponents criticized the SPPE as reducing the standard to become a lawyer, but Gallini said that isn't the case at all.

"The way that we're testing through the Uniform Bar Exam is through multiple choice and closed-book essay questions," he added. "But that's not how you practice law. There's an overwhelming disconnect between what students learn in law school and the actual practice of law."

The Supreme Court referred questions to the Oregon State Bar.

"The court's decision yesterday draws on years of work that we believe will create a highly effective means to assess an applicant's competence and readiness to practice," a bar spokesperson told Law360 Pulse in an email. "It's an exciting change."

David Friedman, a Willamette law professor and associate dean for strategic initiatives, said SPPE will have a profound impact on both the legal profession and the law school.

"For the legal profession, this is a significant advancement in that it aligns licensure criteria with teaching and measuring the skills that established lawyers tell us that new lawyers need," Friedman said in a statement. "The bar exam became a convenient way to test and evaluate aspiring lawyers en masse, but over time, the exam began to really depart from testing the knowledge and skills that new lawyers need."

Friedman added that the bar exam alternative will help motivate law schools to better teach students the skills they will need to serve clients effectively.

The SPPE gives Willamette more room to teach experiential courses.

"In other words, we will provide both the intellectual foundation and the skill foundation for new lawyers, moving us closer to the same way that other professions train and test their newest members," Friedman said.

The cost of the current bar exam — alongside the need to defer income and take time off from work to study — has been a barrier to becoming a licensed member of the legal profession for many people, according to the law school.

Lucy Jensen, a member of Willamette's College of Law Leadership Cabinet, said in a statement that SPPE will be a much more meaningful and helpful measure of law graduates' performance.

"It will, I believe, be a more accurate indicator of what graduates have learned about the actual practice of law," Jensen said, adding, "We attorneys constantly learn from one another and, collectively, this will broaden our approach to our practice of law, expand our skill set, and open our perspectives to better understand our clients and to more effectively represent them."

Meanwhile, the law school said it's gathering a roster of interested alumni to serve as supervising attorneys to support prospective licensees in every area of law, and in all areas of the state.

"Oregon has a serious need for new lawyers of all kinds," Friedman said. "Every step taken in the direction of making Oregon a great place to launch a meaningful legal career will take us a step closer toward better serving the public."

On Tuesday, the court unanimously approved the Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination, or SPPE, which enables the Oregon Bar to admit law school graduates to practice following an assessment of their demonstrated ability to practice law.

The change comes after years of work on attorney licensure reform by two law schools, the Oregon Supreme Court, the Oregon State Bar, the Oregon Board of Bar Examiners and many volunteer lawyers, a bar spokesperson said Wednesday.

"It's been a long road," Brian Gallini, Willamette University College of Law dean and longtime advocate for a more equitable and skills-focused approach to attorney licensure, told Law360 Pulse Wednesday in an interview. 

With SPPE, upon successful completion of 675 hours of practice under the supervision of an experienced attorney — the time most people spend studying for the bar exam — candidates for licensure can submit a portfolio of work to the Board of Bar Examiners for an independent evaluation of their proficiency, Willamette said in an announcement.

Members of the Oregon legal community began questioning whether the state should consider a new approach to licensure shortly after the Oregon Supreme Court's historic vote to grant emergency diploma privilege to the Class of 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gallini said the SPPE provides a more inclusive and scalable alternative to the bar exam. At first, opponents criticized the SPPE as reducing the standard to become a lawyer, but Gallini said that isn't the case at all.

"The way that we're testing through the Uniform Bar Exam is through multiple choice and closed-book essay questions," he added. "But that's not how you practice law. There's an overwhelming disconnect between what students learn in law school and the actual practice of law."

The Supreme Court referred questions to the Oregon State Bar.

"The court's decision yesterday draws on years of work that we believe will create a highly effective means to assess an applicant's competence and readiness to practice," a bar spokesperson told Law360 Pulse in an email. "It's an exciting change."

David Friedman, a Willamette law professor and associate dean for strategic initiatives, said SPPE will have a profound impact on both the legal profession and the law school.

"For the legal profession, this is a significant advancement in that it aligns licensure criteria with teaching and measuring the skills that established lawyers tell us that new lawyers need," Friedman said in a statement. "The bar exam became a convenient way to test and evaluate aspiring lawyers en masse, but over time, the exam began to really depart from testing the knowledge and skills that new lawyers need."

Friedman added that the bar exam alternative will help motivate law schools to better teach students the skills they will need to serve clients effectively.

The SPPE gives Willamette more room to teach experiential courses.

"In other words, we will provide both the intellectual foundation and the skill foundation for new lawyers, moving us closer to the same way that other professions train and test their newest members," Friedman said.

The cost of the current bar exam — alongside the need to defer income and take time off from work to study — has been a barrier to becoming a licensed member of the legal profession for many people, according to the law school.

Lucy Jensen, a member of Willamette's College of Law Leadership Cabinet, said in a statement that SPPE will be a much more meaningful and helpful measure of law graduates' performance.

"It will, I believe, be a more accurate indicator of what graduates have learned about the actual practice of law," Jensen said, adding, "We attorneys constantly learn from one another and, collectively, this will broaden our approach to our practice of law, expand our skill set, and open our perspectives to better understand our clients and to more effectively represent them."

Meanwhile, the law school said it's gathering a roster of interested alumni to serve as supervising attorneys to support prospective licensees in every area of law, and in all areas of the state.

"Oregon has a serious need for new lawyers of all kinds," Friedman said. "Every step taken in the direction of making Oregon a great place to launch a meaningful legal career will take us a step closer toward better serving the public."