Stuff You Should Know – "What's the Bar Exam Like Anyway?"

Hosts: Josh Clark & Chuck Bryant
Date: December 4, 2025
Episode Focus: An in-depth exploration of the bar exam—its history, structure, controversies, and cultural significance in the U.S.—with Josh and Chuck’s signature humor and curiosity.

Episode Overview

In this episode, Josh and Chuck tackle the surprisingly complicated, storied, and often controversial bar examination required to practice law in the United States. Prompted by a listener’s suggestion, they break down the origins of the test, its evolution, the mechanics of how it works today, criticisms (both historic and current), recent scandals, and alternatives to the traditional bar path. Woven throughout are memorable anecdotes, stats, and candid reflections on the true value (and drawbacks) of this infamous legal hurdle.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why the Bar Exam Exists & Listener Prompt

• Rowan Garendesi suggested the topic after seeing the chaos and extremity of bar exam stories.
• Chuck: “I think someone in Rowan’s life had taken the bar, and I think they realized that they didn't know much about it.” (03:08)

2. What is 'The Bar'?

• The “bar” is named for the physical railing dividing public from the business end in a courtroom (04:03).
• Universal in legal professions globally, but shapes and requirements vary by jurisdiction.

3. Historical Origins

• Colonial/Early U.S.: No formal law schools or exams—lawyers apprenticed (07:04).
• Josh: “America wasn’t that far behind [England]... The first [bar exam] was Delaware in 1783... just hang out with a judge, and they would quiz you…” (07:46)
• Abraham Lincoln famously granted an attorney access to the bar after an informal chat—often, test-takers didn’t even know the exam was happening (08:59).

4. Rise of Written Exams & Standardization

• 1855: MA introduced the written bar; by 1920, written tests and law school as training became standard (09:16).
• 1972: The multistate bar exam (MBE)—introduces multiple-choice, attempts to standardize and objectify grading (11:12).
• Josh: “You can say, like, this is right, this is wrong. And it wasn’t just legal terms. They were applying it to hypothetical situations.” (11:26)

5. Built-in Inequity & Racial Discrimination

• Post-1912: the ABA screened black applicants to bar exam access for decades (13:29).
• National Bar Association (for black attorneys) founded in 1925 as a response.
• Chuck: “There seemed to be like a series of lawsuits from black lawyers... but I don't think many of those were successful.” (14:21)
• Cases like Tyler v. Vickery show the courts punting on direct discrimination claims, citing loopholes in labor law definitions (15:39–16:30).

6. Modernization: Essays, Performance Tasks, The UBE

• Late 1980s–2011: Additions of essay (MEE) and performance (MPT) components; the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) adopted by most states—centralizes, but sacrifices state-specific law (17:08–18:10).
• UBE has made it easier to transfer scores—mobility for lawyers among states (30:00).

7. Bar Basics Today

• Eligibility & Forms: 56 U.S. jurisdictions set their own standards; usually require an ABA-accredited JD, but several states allow apprenticeship routes (22:31).
• Testing Schedule: February and July; costs range from hundreds to over $1,000 just to take the exam—with hidden fees for things like typing rather than handwriting (23:15).
• Insular Security: “There is no chance you are going to be allowed to bring your own laptop... so hawkish about preventing cheating that they actually provide tampons... because you're not allowed to bring in your own.” (Josh, 24:15)
• Preparation: Most take expensive prep courses (commonly Barbri, $1,800–$6,000). Josh jokes: “The $6,000 one...they actually have somebody take the test for you and even provide the person with a wig that matches your hair.” (26:09)

8. Breakdown of the UBE (Uniform Bar Exam)

• Three parts:
  • MBE Multiple Choice (50%): 200 questions on civil procedure, contracts, torts, constitutional law, criminal law/procedure, evidence, real property (27:13)
  • MEE Essays (30%)
  • MPT Performance Tasks (20%)
• Total test time: 12 hours over two days, plus ethics/professionalism exam (30:41 – Multi-State Professional Responsibility Exam, MPRE).
• Josh: “You pass it, and that’s great, but I have some inside info...I think it’s sort of untoward to flex on people over your bar score.” (28:44–29:39)

9. Pass Rates and Notable Test-Takers

• Pass rates range widely: 66% in CT to nearly 90% in UT (32:14).
• Some states (e.g., NY) much harder; globally, some bar exams are considered among the world’s toughest.
• Many prominent figures failed at least once (Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, JFK Jr., Kim Kardashian) (33:33).
• Limits may apply on retakes. If failed too many times, can appeal or try alternative jurisdictions (33:51).

10. Alternatives & "Diploma Privilege"

• Wisconsin: Bar not required for graduates of state law schools (51:43).
• NH, VT, VA, CA, OR, and others offer varying degrees of legal apprenticeship as a path to licensure (52:28).
• Chuck: “That’s a pretty cool thing. I think you have to graduate from one of the state’s two law schools there. And they call it diploma privilege.” (51:48)

11. Critiques of the Bar Exam

• Access & Diversity: Black and Hispanic Americans underrepresented; systemic disparities persist (40:01–41:00).
  • Josh: “White law school graduates passed on their first try...24% higher than black students, 13% higher than Hispanic students, and 15% higher than Native Americans.” (41:02)
  • Chuck: “It's just sort of all in the big soup of privilege, you know.” (42:46)
• Validity: No clear, consistently applied definition of "lawyer competence." Exam is minimally predictive of real-world success (study: <4% correlation) (44:41–46:07).
  • Josh: “If you don't have a definition of competence, how can you...test people for whether they meet that definition or not?” (45:46)
• Memorization over Practical Skills: Focus on memorizing doctrine, rather than applied lawyering or research (51:03).
• Scandals & Modern Debacles:
  • COVID: Remote-testing woes—proctors so strict, some urinated themselves; facial recognition didn't register dark-skinned test takers (46:55).
  • California’s exam: Typos, unrevised questions written by ChatGPT; crashes leading to lost essays (47:21–48:37).
  • NY: During one exam, someone suffered cardiac arrest—test-takers told to continue (49:13).

12. Does the Bar Predict Legal Ability?

• Experienced Oklahoma attorneys (no prep) universally failed when retaking the bar—those most seasoned performed worst (49:56).
• Practical skills and specialization learned on the job, not assessed by the bar.

13. Proposed & Future Reforms

• "NextGen Bar Exam" promises to be shorter, possibly more remote-accessible, and less reliant on topics like family law (53:57).
• Movement toward more apprenticeship-based and practical-skills-oriented licensing (Oregon, Washington, et al., considering change) (53:30).

14. A Lawyer’s Take

• Chuck’s anonymous friend:
  • “It shows how you can collect and synthesize a lot of information under time pressure. But...as far as being an indicator of how you'll be as a practitioner? Yeah, not so much...You learn by watching, listening to more experienced attorneys...No pun intended, trial and error.” (55:34–56:20)
  • Supports greater emphasis on legal writing and apprenticeship-based learning.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Josh, on the insularity of legal credentialing:
  “It just seems so fraught with basically opinion because it’s not like the judge is learning about this for the first time. They’re coming at it from fresh eyes. This is like part of their fabric...I just find it fascinating.” (16:30)

• On the test’s logistics:
  “You get hand cramps like the old lawyers used to." (23:49, Josh)

• On privilege and financial investment:
  “Almost assuredly, you have paid several thousand dollars, maybe as much as $6,000 to take preparatory courses...It's just all in the big soup of privilege." (24:41, Chuck; 42:46, Chuck)

• On cheating prevention:
  "They actually provide tampons to people who need them because you’re not allowed to bring in your own tampon." (Josh, 24:15)

• On the future:
  “If you do away with the bar exam, legal fees would probably come down...because one of the functions of gatekeeping that the bar exam does is it artificially keeps the supply of lawyers low.” (54:30)

• On the exam’s predictive value:
  “It was minimally predictive of career success and negligibly related...the Nevada performance test was negligibly related to success?” (Chuck, 44:41)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:08] – Listener Rowan’s prompt; why the topic matters
• [04:03–04:24] – Origin of the word “bar”
• [07:04–08:59] – History of the bar exam and Abraham Lincoln’s anecdote
• [13:29–14:21] – Systemic exclusion of Black lawyers; lawsuits
• [18:10] – Modern structure: UBE, portability, state-specific requirements
• [23:15–24:33] – Logistics, preparation, and unique security measures
• [27:12] – Breakdown of UBE components
• [32:14] – Pass rates by state
• [40:01–44:41] – Racial disparities, validity, and impact studies
• [46:55–48:37] – Recent scandals: COVID, ChatGPT mishaps, testing disasters
• [49:56] – Study: Experienced lawyers universally fail the bar second time around
• [51:43–52:28] – Alternatives: 'Diploma privilege' and apprenticeships
• [53:57–56:20] – NextGen Bar Exam, reform efforts, legal writing, and apprenticeships

Final Takeaways

• The bar exam’s roots are tangled with tradition, systemic exclusion, and evolving standards of legal competence—not always in step with real-world lawyering.
• Its current form is costly, mentally and physically taxing, with debatable predictive value for one’s success as a practicing attorney.
• Alternatives and reforms are gaining traction: practical apprenticeships, diploma privileges, and (potentially) a measured move away from memorization-based testing.
• As always, Josh and Chuck bring levity and clarity to a heavy—and highly consequential—process.

For more on the subject, check out the episode’s references, or just dive into the world of legal dramas (with a far lower prep fee).