California is now one step closer to allowing law graduates to become licensed attorneys without taking the bar exam.

The State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees has just voted to test run the Portfolio Bar Exam—an alternative pathway to licensure that would allow aspiring lawyers to spend four to six months working under the supervision of an experienced attorney, gaining admission to the bar after submitting an acceptable portfolio of legal work.

The Portfolio Bar Exam pilot still needs final approval from the California Supreme Court, but the endorsement of the State Bar is a key step. Should the high court sign off on the program, California would be the latest state with a bar exam alternative.

The decision comes less than two weeks after the Oregon Supreme Court adopted a similar program that will go into effect in May of next year.

Under the California proposal, graduates of law schools accredited by either the American Bar Association or the State Bar of California would complete 700 to 1,000 hours of supervised legal practice and submit a portfolio of work, such as client memos and negotiations, which would be graded by the State Bar. Those who passed would become licensed without taking the bar exam.

In public comments submitted to the State Bar, proponents argued that completing actual legal work may be a better indicator of a law graduate’s capabilities than a two-day bar exam. They also said the proposed program would reduce the financial and emotional burden of taking several months to exclusively study for the bar exam, since they would be paid for their supervised legal work.

But the majority of the 2,814 comments the State Bar received opposed the proposal, saying it would reduce the requirements to become a lawyer and would erode public protections. A group of 59 separate California bar organizations sent a letter to the State Bar and state lawmakers saying the Portfolio Bar Exam would “allow licensure based on a varying and subjective standard that can be easily manipulated.”

Many critics did not delve into the details of the proposal, said Susan Smith Bakhshian, a Loyola Law School Professor who helped develop the Portfolio Bar Exam. Some of the commenters did not seem to understand that participants would still have to attend law school, she said.

You can read more about this program here.

For those law graduates who still have to take the bar and were unsuccessful on the latest exam, Marino Legal will give you a completely free score evaluation from our bar exam experts to show you what went wrong and exactly what you need to do to pass on the next try. We are dedicated to helping retaker students pass and urge you to contact us right away, as the sooner we speak to you, the sooner we can help you set up a game plan for success on the February exam. Just submit your score report to us here or email us at [email protected].