Report of the NYSBA Task Force on the New York Bar Examination - April 2020

Sep 21, 2026

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Report of the New York State Bar Association Task Force analyzing the impact of New York’s adoption of the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) on applicants, newly admitted attorneys, employers, bar members, the court system, and professional diversity. The Executive Summary states that New York no longer uses its own bar exam and relies on the UBE developed by the NCBE, with the New York Law Examination (NYLE) described as a nominal test. The report presents findings on the NYLE’s effectiveness, NY-specific testing, and the bar exam’s role in assessing legal competency, followed by options and recommendations for reform.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages270

Reading Time11 h 20 min

AccessFree to download

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

II. INTRODUCTION

III. BACKGROUND

A. The New York Bar Examination Prior to the Adoption of the UBE

B. BOLE Proposal to Change to the UBE

C. Consideration of the UBE Proposal

D. Decision by Court of Appeals to Adopt the UBE

E. Current State of the Bar Exam

IV. THE EFFECT OF NEW YORK’S ADOPTION OF THE UBE

A. Anecdotal Evidence of a Problem

B. Public Hearings Across the State

C. Viewpoints of the Deans of New York Law Schools

D. Student Survey

E. Presentations from Experts and Studies on Bar Exams

F. Meeting with the BOLE

V. FINDINGS

A. The Lost Purpose of the Bar Exam

B. The NYLE has Failed

C. The Problems with the UBE

D. The Loss of Meaningful New York Testing

E. The Devaluation of New York Law and the Teaching of New York Law

F. The Undue Predominance of Multiple-Choice Questions and its Disparities

G. The Portability Issue

H. Foreign Law School Graduates

I. Employment and Employers

VI. OPTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Do Nothing

2. Eliminate the NYLE and NYLE

3. A More Robust New York Test Component

4. UBE and New York Choices

5. UBE Plus New York Test

6. New York Law Certification

7. New York CLEs

8. Study and Reform the UBE

9. Experiential Learning Pilot Program

VII. CONCLUSION

NEW YORK STATEBAR ASSOCIATIONReport of the New YorkState Bar AssociationTask Force on theNew York Bar ExaminationApril 2020 Report of the NYSBA Task Force onthe New York Bar ExaminationMarch 5,2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 IⅡ. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4 Ⅲ. BACKGROUND………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8 A. The New York Bar Examination Prior to the Adoption of the UBE…………………………8 B. BOLE Proposal to Change to the UB…………………………………………………………………………………11 (i) Background……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11 (ii) Rationale……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12 C. Consideration of the UBE Proposa……………………………………………………………………………………12 (i) Public Comment Period………………………………………………………………………………………………………12 (ii) Advisory Committee Recommendation…………………………………………………………………15 D. Decision by Court of Appeals to Adopt the UBE………………………………………………………………17 (i) Rationale…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………17 (ii) Expectations…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………17 E. Current State of the Bar Exam……………………………………………………………………………………………………18 (i) UBE…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………18 (ii) State-Specific Requirement for Admission…………………………………………………………20 IV. THE EFFECT OF NEW YORK’S ADOPTION OF THE UBE……………………………………21 A. Anecdotal Evidence of a Problem………………………………………………………………………………………………21 B. Public Hearings Across the State………………………………………………………………………………………………22 (i) Western New York…………………………………………………………………………………………………………22 (ii) Nassau County………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………23 (iii) Capital Region……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………24 C. Viewpoints of the Deans of New York Law Schools………………………………………………………25 D. Student Survey……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………28 E. Presentations from Experts and Studies on Bar Exams……………………………………………………28 (i) Alternative Approaches to Licensing Lawyers: Presentations of Professor Deborah Merritt and Dean Judith Wegner on Assessing Legal Competency………………………………………………………………………………………………………………28 (ii) Building a Better Bar Exam: Report by Andrea A. Curcio, Carol L. Chomsky, and Eileen Kaufman…………………………………………………………………………………33 (iii) Assessing the Transition to the UBE:Professors Suzanne Darrow- Kleinhaus and Allison Robbins…………………………………………………………………………………………………35 (iv) New York Study on the Transition to the UBE…………………………………………………36 (v) NCBE Study on the Transition to the UB…………………………………………………………38 ·1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page F. Meeting with the BOL………………………………………………………………………………………………………38 V. FINDINGS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………42 A. The Lost Purpose of the Bar Exam…………………………………………………………………………………………42 B. The NYLE has Failed …………………………………………………………………………………………………………42 C. The Problems with the UB………………………………………………………………………………………………………4 1. Understanding the Methodology………………………………………………………………………………45 2. Summary of the Issue………………………………………………………………………………………47 3. The Reliability Issue: Scaling the Written Component to the MBE………48 4. The Low Correlation Between the Written Component and the MBE is Attributable to Differences in the Skills and Knowledge Tested……………………………………………………………………………………………………………52 5. The MBE Issue………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………53 D. The Loss of Meaningful New York Testing…………………………………………………………………57 E. The Devaluation of New York Law and the Teaching of New York Law…………61 F. The Undue Predominance of Multiple-Choice Questions and its Disparities ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………62 G. The Portability Issu. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………64 H. Foreign Law School Graduates………………………………………………………………………………………66 I. Employment and Employers………………………………………………………………………………………68 VI. OPTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS………………………………………………………………………68 1. Do Nothing………………………………………………………

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the NYSBA Task Force report?

To investigate and report on the impact of New York’s adoption of the UBE on applicants, newly admitted attorneys’ qualifications, employers, bar members, the court system, and diversity in the profession, and to provide recommendations for the New York bar examination.

What does the Executive Summary say about New York’s bar examination system?

New York no longer has its own bar examination; it uses the UBE. The only part described as testing New York law is the New York Law Examination (NYLE), which the report characterizes as not an examination in fact.

What types of evidence and inputs does the report consider when evaluating the UBE adoption?

The report includes anecdotal evidence, public hearings across the state, viewpoints from deans of New York law schools, a student survey, presentations from experts and studies on bar exams, and meetings with the BOLE.

Sep 21, 2026

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