TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on May 28, 2026

The council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar recently voted to allow law schools to count graduates who complete alternative pathways to licensure toward the minimum graduation rate needed for accreditation. The ABA Journal reports that the council’s Standards Committee recommended modernizing Standard 316. Council member Mary Lu Bilek said it was important to align the standard with what is happening across the country, where some states — including Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota and Utah — have or are considering alternatives to the bar exam. The move follows a 2025 report by the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform, which found that innovative pathways such as supervised practice could help address access to justice and practice readiness.