Board seeks input on plan for new bar admissions requirements

By Laura Ernde
Staff Writer

The Board of Trustees is seeking public comment on a draft plan to implement new competency skills training requirements aimed at better preparing lawyers for the profession.

The proposal calls for:

• 15 units of practice-based experiential training during law school/apprenticeship option
• 50 hours of pro bono/reduced fee legal services
• 10 hours of additional competency training MCLE (minimum continuing legal education) in the first year of admission

The plan was developed by the Task Force on Admissions Regulation Reform Phase II, a 30-member panel chaired by former State Bar President Jon B. Streeter and comprised of attorneys, judges, academics and pro bono directors. Since December, the group has held eight public hearings and sought input from interested parties.

“This is a major milestone for this task force,” State Bar President Craig Holden said after the board’s executive committee authorized the public comment Sept. 29. “I look forward to getting the public’s input on this.”

Comments are due Nov. 3 and may be submitted via email to teri.greenman@calbar.ca.gov or mailed to Teri Greenman, Executive Offices, The State Bar of California, 845 S. Figueroa St., 5th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017.

The board is expected to take up the issue at its next meeting, Nov. 6-7 in San Francisco.

The bar first began moving toward requiring more practical skills training for admission to the bar in February 2012, when the board created the Task Force on Admissions Regulation Reform Phase I, also chaired by Streeter.