No bar exam required to practice law in Oregon starting next year

JonsJava@lemmy.worldmod to News@lemmy.world – 197 points –
No bar exam required to practice law in Oregon starting next year
reuters.com
40

You are viewing a single comment

The bar I took cost something like $2000 including two months of prep classes on top of law school. Then more money for a hotel stay so I could take a two day test. I would have preferred 4 months apprenticeship paid or no.

You think travelling to and from unpaid work for four months is better than paying $2k and a hotel for one night?

Average 21 working days a month, commute at $10 a day which is a very low estimate for the US, and its $840 + 2 months of lost wages.

At minimum wage that’s $2320 before tax… but we’re talking (hopefully) intelligent people who can earn significantly more.

At $20/h we’re looking at $6400 in lost wages by comparison to the old system you have described.

This is bad for workers as its putting a greater financial barrier on entering the profession.

I gave you my opinion, from my experience . If you’ve taken a bar and that’s your opinion, fine.

The primary barrier to entry into the legal profession is law school, not the licensing exam.

4 months of legal apprenticeship with a side gig isn’t bad. However, I would imagine that most applicants will be doing 4 months of paid clerkship with enough extra unpaid hours to meet the bar’s criteria.

I would think 4 months would also help your resume. But then again, not sure if not having the bar exam could hurt your resume? Curious your opinion.