Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Law students willing to practice in legal deserts after graduation could bypass the bar exam under a recommendation from a commission studying Indiana’s legal needs.
The Commission on Indiana’s Legal Future proposes that the state supreme court pilot an additional pathway to bar licensure that includes existing law school and practice requirements but ends in an exam that resembles the Multistate Performance Test section of the bar exam focused just on Indiana law and doesn’t need to be taken over two days.
The pathway would be offered to law students who pursue a path to work in a high-need field or area in Indiana upon graduation.
“We need more lawyers doing real people lawyering in rural communities and in less populated counties, and creating an incentive structure to make that more attractive is something that sort of pervades a lot of what this commission report is about,” said Max Huffman, vice dean and professor of law at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and member of the legal future commission’s Pathways to Admission & Education Work Group.
In July, the commission released its final report, highlighting efforts and recommendations that would increase the number of highly skilled attorneys practicing in the state.
The commission was established in April 2024 to address the state’s ongoing attorney shortage. As of 2024, Indiana ranked 43rd out of 50 states for the number of lawyers per capita, just 2.26 lawyers for every 1,000 residents.
In establishing the commission, the Indiana Supreme Court created five work groups that focused on different areas of the law practice in an effort to provide varying approaches to squash the crisis.
‘Differently demanding’ path to licensure
Members of the admission work group emphasize that this alternative pathway is in no way easier than the bar exam path. Instead, it’s “differently demanding,” and requires a commitment from students to begin their legal careers in a high-
need area.
“This is not necessarily to create a different way for people to become barred, but it’s to offer an incentive to people that might say, ‘You know what? I’d rather do this, not have to take the two-day bar exam and I’m happy to commit to going back to one of these communities and work for some period of time,’” said Anne Newton McFadden, dean of students and adjunct professor of law at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law and member of the work group.
According to the final report, students who pursue this alternative path would be required to take and pass all law school curriculum, including eight specific courses like Indiana constitutional law and evidence.
After earning 30 credits toward their law degree, but before completing 70 credits, students would have the option to apply for the pathway.
Once on the path, students would need to complete at least two different Indiana-based externships and clinics, including one that is directly related to their chosen post-graduation placement.
Students must also take and pass both the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination after completing the first-year law school curriculum and the MPT-like exam after completing their degree requirements. Like the MPT portion of the bar exam, this exam would require students to read and understand provided legal material, apply it to a scenario, and present their analysis or argument in writing.
After graduating and upon completing their exams, students would receive a three-year conditional license at no fee to practice law in a legal desert or in a high-need public-sector field, like public defenders’ offices or the Department of Child Services, McFadden said.
The work group is hoping the recommendation would give Hoosier law students more reason to stay in the state.
According to the ABA’s Employment Summary for 2024 Graduates, 68% of employed graduates from Indiana’s three law schools were employed in Indiana a year after graduation. Breaking it down further, that includes 95% of McKinney students, 58% of Maurer students, and 18% of Notre Dame students who stayed in the state.
Speaking on McKinney’s numbers alone, Huffman said that while plenty of graduates stay in state, offering more incentives could encourage them to practice in those high-need areas.
“We can do more service in the rural communities, so long as there is a structure built around moving people that direction,” Huffman said.
Earlier this year, the work group surveyed 216 law students to gauge interest in the alternative path. Of the surveyed students, which included 108 students from Maurer and 108 students from McKinney, nearly 29% of students said they’d be interested in declaring a commitment to the alternative pathway, while nearly 36% said they may be interested in it.
Alternative exams vary nationwide
Indiana is one of several states that have pursued other methods of entry into the practice of law in response to statewide lawyer shortages.
The methods vary based on each state’s needs and resources.
In 2023, the Oregon Supreme Court approved the adoption of a new pathway for admission to the state’s bar.
Now, law students in several schools across Oregon have two options for admission:
• The traditional state bar exam (the state will begin administering the NextGen Bar Exam in July 2026).
• The Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination, which allows applicants to work in a supervised apprenticeship following graduation. Upon completing the apprenticeship, law students submit a portfolio of work for admission to the Oregon State Bar.
Other states that are looking into or have already adopted alternative methods for admission to the bar include Minnesota, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Washington.
Indiana’s Pathways to Admission & Education Work Group surveyed several states’ methods before landing on a recommendation of their own.
In Wisconsin, for example, law students can obtain licensure without taking the bar exam. The state’s “diploma privilege” allows students to bypass the bar and practice in state and federal courts so long as they meet certain degree requirements.
And while the work group chose not to take such a path, some aspects of their recommendation resemble those of other states’, like Oregon’s supervised apprenticeship program. One of the other requirements of Indiana’s alternative path is the use of mentors in the state’s legal deserts.
Students who commit to the pathway and practice in the state for at least three years would also be practicing under the sponsorship of an experienced attorney.
In many high-need public-sector fields, like public defender offices, structured mentorship efforts are already in place. Huffman said he believes this mentorship not only benefits the professional growth of students who choose this path but addresses the need for mentorship in the practice in general.
“So much of what you do in learning to be a lawyer requires someone looking over your shoulder,” he said.
The Indiana Supreme Court invites the public to comment on the commission’s final report until noon on Aug. 29. These comments will be considered as the court determines the state’s next steps toward addressing the lawyer shortage.•
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.