Navigating Bar Admission Reform as Clinicians: The NextGen Bar Exam and Alternative Paths to Licensure

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Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Hotel: Marriott St. Louis Grand

Room: Landmark 4

Floor: Ground Floor, Conference Plaza

Legal educators are entering a pivotal moment for reforming access to the legal profession. The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) has introduced the NextGen Bar Exam, scheduled to debut in several jurisdictions in 2026, while other jurisdictions are piloting or closely examining alternative paths to bar admission. This session will bring clinicians together to address the impacts of these reforms on clinical education, legal practice, and the broader legal profession. First, through lightning-round presentations, participants will learn about the structure and content of the NextGen Bar Exam, alternative licensing models, and movements to pursue these alternative models in several jurisdictions. We will explore potential benefits and risks of NextGen and alternative licensing paths for clinical and experiential programs, as well as for the profession. Will clinicians be expected to teach the new skills to be tested on the exam or in alternative licensing paths? Will NextGen or alternative pathways align with clinical pedagogy and client-centered lawyering? Will these new assessment methods alleviate or reinforce some of the existing gatekeeping inequities associated with admission to the legal profession (such as the high cost of administration, racial disparities in access and passage rates, and a failure to assess who will make “good” lawyers accurately)? Will NextGen or alternative pathways even introduce new barriers? What role should clinicians play in helping expand equitable access to the profession? Second, panelists will facilitate two breakout groups: one focused on NextGen Bar and the other on alternative licensing. The NextGen Bar group will be given sample exam questions to ground its discussion, and the alternate licensing group will be given sample licensing reforms to ground its discussion.