As we count down toward this summer’s bar, trying to soothe our nervous-to-frantic recent grads, might want to suggest that they read “A Japanese Legal Exam That Sets the Bar High” (I realize that not everyone can access NY Times articles online for free, but won’t reproduce the whole article to avoid using up too much space, as my last post did.)
Japan recently “reformed” its bar examination process, ostensibly to increase the number of lawyers available for the under-served (within reason, mind — we’re talking an increase in overall number of lawyers admitted per year from 1000 to 3000). But the folks from the Justice Ministry who draft and administer the test seem not to be on board with this objective: only 25% of test-takers passed last year. Two law schools did not have a single graduate pass. Perhaps the biggest change, and challenge: now candidates can take the bar exam only three times.
So we have to console ourselves: it could be worse.
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Best Practices for Legal Education 