Several states opted to temporarily suspend their bar exams when the pandemic broke out last year. This led many in the legal community to question why the exam exists in the first place.

Now at least one state is seriously considering alternative ways to certify new law school grads. The Oregon Supreme Court is currently weighing a proposal that would make the bar exam just one of several options aspiring attorneys there can choose to earn their license.

On today's episode of our weekly legal news podcast, On The Merits, we hear from Brian Gallini, one of the people who drafted that proposal. Gallini, the dean of the Willamette University College of Law, talks about why he thinks the bar exam should be scrapped altogether but why replacing it with so-called "diploma privilege" isn't a good option either.audio embed goes here

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