Delaware lowers passing score on bar exam in push for racial diversity: ‘Not supposed to be a barrier’

The Delaware Supreme Court lowered the passing score on the state’s bar exam amid other changes reportedly intended to increase racial diversity among the state’s lawyers.

The 200-question multiple-choice exam will be offered twice instead of once a year beginning in 2024 – and its passing score will be lowered from 145 to 143, according to local outlet WHYY.

The number of essays on the exam will be decreased from eight to four, and the number of essay topics will be reduced from 14 to 10.

The clerkship requirement is also being lowered from 21 weeks to 12 weeks, and the mandatory list of 25 legal proceedings that potential lawyers must attend has been shortened to 18 out of 30 possible items.

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The late application fee for law school graduates and attorneys admitted in other states has also been decreased.

In the court’s announcement of the changes, Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. pushed back against any assertion that they reflect a “lowering of standards” and referred to them as a “modernization” of the admission process aimed at aligning with the standards in other states.

Seitz, who began the diversity project that led to a report that suggested changes to the exam, maintained that such revisions will enhance competitiveness in attracting legal talent to the state that serves as a hub of business litigation, according to Reuters.

“Delaware is the only state to hold the bar exam just once a year,” Seitz said. “This can frustrate applicants because if they fail to pass the exam, which may be required for them to keep or land a job in Delaware, they have to wait a full year before they can try again.”

“The bar exam is not supposed to be a barrier to entering the profession but is supposed to be a test of an applicant’s ability to successfully practice law in Delaware, and I believe these reforms will help better reflect that purpose,” he added.

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Chuck Durante, who serves as president of the Delaware State Bar Association, praised the changes, according to WHYY.

“These changes are designed to remove certain unnecessary impediments to applications to the Delaware bar, to rip some barbed wire from the welcome mat, some traditional barriers that had developed into something quite artificial,” he said.

Durante further noted that “attitudes must continue to evolve in Delaware,” according to the outlet.

“White people generally who have their antennae up, who understand what is happening in society, have learned the meaning of microaggression. They’ve learned the meaning of how to be welcoming, how to be professional, how to make this community better suited for diversity in its professional class, including its lawyers,” he said.