Putting the Bar to the Test: An Examination of the Predictive Validity of Bar Exam Outcomes on Lawyering Effectiveness

Jason M. Scott; Stephen N. Goggin; Rick Trachok; Jenny S. Kwon; Sara Gordon; Dean Gould; Fletcher S. Hiigel; Leah Chan Grinvald; David Faigman

doi:10.1177/2755323X241296683

Putting the Bar to the Test: An Examination of the Predictive Validity of Bar Exam Outcomes on Lawyering Effectiveness

Jason M. Scott
, Stephen N. Goggin
, Rick Trachok
, Jenny S. Kwon
, Sara Gordon
, Dean Gould
, Fletcher S. Hiigel
, Leah Chan Grinvald
, David Faigman

Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia

AccessLex Institute, West Chester, PA, USA
Department of Political Science, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
Nevada Board of Bar Examiners, Reno, NV, USA
Sérgio Vieira de Mello Professor of International Refugee Law, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco; Director of Policy, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies , USA
State Bar of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA

Research output: Article › peer-review

Abstract

How well does bar exam performance predict lawyering effectiveness? Is performance on some components of the bar exam more predictive? The current study, the first of its kind to measure the relationship between bar exam scores and a new lawyer’s effectiveness, evaluates these questions by combining three unique datasets—bar results from the State Bar of Nevada, a survey of recently admitted lawyers, and a survey of supervisors, peers, and judges who were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of recently-admitted lawyers. We find that performance on both the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) and essay components of the Nevada Bar have little relationship with the assessed lawyering effectiveness of new lawyers, calling into question the usefulness of these tests.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	313-325
Journal	Journal of Law & Empirical Analysis
Volume	1
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/2755323X241296683
Publication status	Published - 2024

Access to Document

10.1177/2755323X241296683

Cite this

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abstract = "How well does bar exam performance predict lawyering effectiveness? Is performance on some components of the bar exam more predictive? The current study, the first of its kind to measure the relationship between bar exam scores and a new lawyer{\textquoteright}s effectiveness, evaluates these questions by combining three unique datasets—bar results from the State Bar of Nevada, a survey of recently admitted lawyers, and a survey of supervisors, peers, and judges who were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of recently-admitted lawyers. We find that performance on both the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) and essay components of the Nevada Bar have little relationship with the assessed lawyering effectiveness of new lawyers, calling into question the usefulness of these tests.",

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