Law Practice,
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Oct. 18, 2017
Passing the bar
Today's rigorous law school admissions process and curriculum screen out those who aspire to be lawyers but lack the basic skills or discipline to practice law. Law schools do a pretty good job at preparing their students to tackle the bar exam. However, by the time the bar exam rolls round, the content of subjects tested on the bar exam may be hazy in the minds of bar applicants.
Michael L. Stern
Judge (ret.)
Harvard Law, Boalt Hall
Judge Stern worked at the CRLA Santa Maria office from 1972 to 1975. He is chair of the Los Angeles County Superior Court Historical Committee.
The current discussion about whether to lower the passing score on the California bar examination to match that of other states raises questions about how much bearing the exam has on determining who will be a good lawyer and what is the future of the legal profession in California.
There is no evidence that California's bar exam threshold passing score, which is higher than most other states, protects the public from unqualified pe...
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