Delaware eyes bar exam alternatives for lawyer licensing
May 23 (Reuters) - Delaware has joined the growing list of states weighing alternative ways to license attorneys.
The Delaware Supreme Court on Thursday said it will consider ways to license lawyers without the bar exam, such as providing admissions after two years of specific coursework and assignments or an apprenticeship program.
The court cited the success of the alternative licensing program in New Hampshire as a potential model in announcing a task force to look at alternative lawyer licensing.
Delaware, despite being the place of incorporation for 62% of companies last year on the Russell 3000 index, which covers nearly all public companies, has just two American Bar Association-accredited law schools and is a relatively small bar exam jurisdiction. Some 185 people were admitted to practice there in 2024 through the bar exam, according to data from the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
The court also pointed to recently adopted alternative licensing programs in a handful of the other states including Oregon, Washington and South Dakota as potential models for its program. Proponents say those pathways lower the cost of licensure for law graduates and bypass the racial gaps seen on bar exam pass rates.
Details of various states' alternative licensing programs differ, but most involve law graduates working for a designated period under the guidance of a supervising attorney with some external evaluation of their work product.
Oregon jump-started the current licensure reform movement in 2023 when it adopted an apprenticeship pathway for law school graduates that does not require taking the bar.
Washington followed with a similar approach in March 2024, and in July, Arizona put a plan in motion that lets law grads who fail the bar exam obtain a license through a practical skills program. South Dakota earlier this year adopted a pilot program that allows a limited number of local law graduates to become licensed without the bar exam after working under supervision, provided they commit to public service careers.
Like Delaware, high courts in Minnesota and Utah are currently considering licensing alternatives.
But no large states have adopted alternatives to the bar exam as yet. California's Supreme Court in October rejected a proposed alternative pathway that would have enabled law school graduates to become licensed after spending four to six months working under the supervision of an experienced attorney and submitting an acceptable portfolio of legal work. The court said the proposal would have implicated an "array of ethical and practical problems.'
The Delaware task force's report is due in June 2026.
Read more:
California alternative lawyer licensing plan rejected by state high court
No bar exam required to practice law in Oregon starting next year
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