Delaware Supreme Court to Investigate Alternatives to Bar Admission
The Delaware Supreme Court has approved a task force, led by Justice Gary F. Traynor,聽 to explore alternatives to the traditional Bar Exam for admission to the Delaware Bar. The task force will include members from across the legal community, such as public and private attorneys, legal aid organizations, and law schools. This initiative supports a 2022 Judicial Branch goal to improve diversity in the legal profession. Other states, including Oregon and Wisconsin, have implemented similar programs. The report and recommendations will be due to the Chief Justice on or before June 15, 2026 subject to any extensions granted by the Chief Justice.
Additional Information from the State of Delaware Administrative Office of the Courts
Specifically, the Strategic Plan, and this month鈥檚 Supreme Court order, cite the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program in New Hampshire as a possible model.
In that groundbreaking program, started in 2005, the UNNH Franklin Pierce School of Law collaborated with the New Hampshire Supreme Court, the New Hampshire Board of Bar Examiners and the New Hampshire Bar Association to create a two-year apprentice program to graduate and join the bar without sitting for the bar exam. Studies of the New Hampshire program have shown it has been successful in graduating client-ready attorneys who outperformed other attorneys, admitted to practice in the previous two years, based on
standardized client interviews.
The Delaware task force will be assisted by the National Center for State Courts, the AcessLex
Institute and Delaware Supreme Court staff attorneys. Once assembled, the group will consider strategic partnerships with Widener University Delaware Law School and Wilmington University Law School and examine different approaches taken by other states. These approaches include a diploma privilege, a program that is part of a law school curriculum, an apprentice program where students work side-by-side with a practicing attorney or attorneys or a mixture of methods. The task force will also consider if participation in the program should be limited to students who make a commitment to public service work.