In July 2026, Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Virgin Islands, and Washington will administer the NextGen bar exam, with additional states set to adopt the test in subsequent years. As the bar exam shifts to focus on Foundational Lawyering Skills—including legal research, legal writing, issue spotting and analysis, investigation and evaluation, client counseling, negotiation, and client management—the role of experiential learning in legal education is more critical than ever. Clinics and externships, long valued for their hands-on training, are now poised to play a central role alongside traditional “bar courses” like contracts, torts, and constitutional law.
With bar passage rates at the forefront of institutional priorities, experiential learning educators are uniquely positioned to help reimagine legal education in this evolving landscape.
In this interactive lightning round, we will examine both opportunities and challenges as the demand for experiential learning increases. Participants will share strategies for integrating experiential coursework with bar preparation efforts, collaborating with bar support programs, and reframing the relationship between skills training and doctrinal instruction. By working together, we can ensure our students are not only practice-ready but also bar-ready in this new era of legal education.