Hearing of the Assembly Judiciary Committee on the State of Legal Education in California and the Process of Preparing for Admission to Practice

During the spring of 1984, the Judiciary Committee of the California Assembly conducted a hearing which investigated the controversy surrounding the July 1983 bar examination. Although that particular bar examination\u27s grading procedure is no longer under scrutiny, several unanswered questions have arisen regarding both the State Bar of California and the Committee of Bar Examiners. Therefore, the Judiciary Committee will conduct two hearings which will focus on several issues related to the practice of law in California. The first hearing is scheduled for March 12, 1985, and will commence at 3:00 p.m. in Room 126 in the State Capitol. That hearing will provide an overview of the interrelationships between the state Supreme Court, the State Bar cf California\u27s Board of Governors and the Committee of Bar Examiners. Additional , the above-mentioned bodies will be expected to provide the Judiciary Committee with a description of their decision-making and administrative processes. The second hearing will be conducted on March 26, 1985, at 3:00 p.m. also in Room 126 and will feature input from undergraduate school deans; law school deans, law student organizations; the Educational Testing Service and women and minority bar associations. It will focus on the state of legal education in California and on the process of preparing one for admission to practice. The purpose of this hearing is to provide the members of the Judiciary Committee with additional insight into the process of becoming an attorney in California. This hearing is informational in nature and as such, it cover many subjects. It is not the intent of this hearing to provide answers to each of the significant questions that exist regarding the myriad of issues affecting law students, law academicians, practitioners and jurists; however, this hearing will add to the developing pool of information on the policies and practices of the State Bar of California and the Committee of Bar Examiners, which will enable the Judiciary Committee to work with the State Bar to respond to the public\u27s concerns; specifically in the area of admission to practice and attorney discipline. This morning\u27s hearing will feature the testimony of the State Bar of California, the State Bar\u27s Committee of Bar Examiners, the California Postsecondary Education Commission, several California law school deans, and representatives of undergraduate pre-law advisors, representatives of law school graduates and representatives of minority law student associations