Every lawyer attending law school is a relatively new phenomenon although law schools have been around in the US since 1817. Previously, many might apprentice,

Every lawyer attending law school is a relatively new phenomenon although law schools have been around in the US since 1817. Previously, many might apprentice, then take a bar exam. Justice Robert Jackson, one of our greatest SCOTUS justices and a personal favorite, was the last SCOTUS justice not to attend the standard 3 years of law school. However IMHO there are plenty of attorneys, perhaps too many, and de-professionalizing the practice of law, at this moment in time, will not be a good thing for judges, other attorneys, and the administration of justice. But read carefully what Oregon is doing: > After law school, candidates will spend 675 hours working under the supervision of an experienced attorney and create a portfolio of legal work that bar officials will grade as an alternative to the traditional bar exam. I think this policy gets the problem backwards. Kids are actually spending too much time and money in law school. The preparation and sitting for a grueling 2-3 day exam more closely approximates one aspect of the profession, than yet another year of law school. I'd be more pleased if we re-adopted the apprenticeship model, as an alternative to some law school, and reduced the traditional law school curriculum to 2 years.