New York's Adoption of the UBE Signals Good News For Recent Grads

Philip Mauriello Jr.
May 11, 2015
3 min read

The one thing that creeps in the mind of every law student on a daily basis, is the bar exam. No matter what state you are in, your professors continually harp on how this or that is tested on the bar. Even more perplexing, is the directed study of what's on your specific state's bar.

For example, I study in California, one of the toughest bars in the country. My professors will drop clues such as "Misrepresentation hasn't been tested in California for 12 years" or "Replevin is good to know, but you will never see it on the California bar". This type of learning limits one's exposure to the areas of law that will or will not be tested on your state's bar exam. This week though, New York took a bold step in standardizing the way lawyers learn and get certified.

The New York Court of Appeals approved earlier this week that starting July 2016, they will start using the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) to certify students to their bar. The UBE was created as a bar exam that covers most of the major areas of law, and passing this exam would certify you in a number of different states all at once.

Originally it appeared that the UBE was reserved for those states which had trouble attracting lawyers within their borders. States such as Utah, North Dakota, Alaska, and Wyoming were the states you could practice in with passage of the UBE. New York's decision this week may push the UBE from a blanket test for less populated states, to the national standard for bar testing.

New York is one of the hardest and most complex bars to pass (the other one being California). Being the hardest had a special sense of prestige. Only the best of the best could pass, and reserving the most coveted spots in the most active states was a way of filtering out lawyers who wouldn't be able to hack it.

The Court of Appeals decision this week reflects more than just a reversal in New York's attitude on the bar, but New York's view on the legal field as a whole. It is no surprise to anyone that the legal community has fallen on tough times. Employment numbers are down, enrolllment in law school is down, and sentiment about the legal field is at an all time low. Johnathan Lippman the Chief Judge of New York (pictured below), was quoted saying “We recognize it’s a global world and there has to be portability with the law license around the country, We think we would be sticking our heads in the sand if we don’t realize the practice of law doesn’t stop at state lines.” Lippman goes on to say that New York has always been viewed as the gold standard in bar testing and the UBE was previously viewed as not being up to that standard. But Lippman concedes that the legal community is only becoming more global, not local, and a national test that can certify lawyers across numerous states only will help the community.

But what does this mean for recent grad students? A national bar exam that would certify a student across the country multiplies their job prospects ten fold. As Lippman said, in an ever globalized world, it would be naive for states to limit lawyers to within their boundaries. This could mean that even if a student sits for the bar in Utah, they can still practice in New York City if need be. Instead of simply looking for a job in Utah, that student is now afforded the opportunity to take their skills to a number of states.

This could have even bigger implications for firms as well. A firm that may be based in New York, might hold off on opening a California office for fear that it would be too hard to recruit or understand California law. By standardizing the test, firms can grow faster and bigger without the fear of state specific certifications. The rise of national law firms can become a real possibilty in the near future, and that could mean more jobs for recent grads.

The legal community still has a long way to go, and students still have a steep hill to climb. But, New York's decision to adopt the UBE, as Judge Lippman put it may be a "domino effect" for states around the country. Creative and forward thinking solutions like these are what the legal community needs to get back a sustainable model. We should applaud New York's decision to adopt the UBE, and keep our fingers crossed that other states will follow.