Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Recently, I was in a partner’s office evaluating a case we were working on, discussing potential claims to assert.
Off top, I was mulling over the merits of a particular state-law claim that involves rather nuanced elements and contours from Indiana case law.
Coincidentally, I was recalling these nuances from an assignment in my first-year legal writing course in law school—seemingly unusual because I attended law school outside of Indiana. (To explain the coincidence, the professors based the assignment’s underlying facts around characters from the popular Netflix series “Stranger Things,” which is set in a fictional Indiana town.)
Upon mentioning the source of my offhand knowledge of this Indiana claim, the partner said to me, “Oh, that must have served you well for the bar exam,” which I sat for here in Indiana in July 2022.
In response, I felt compelled to embark on the subjectively hazardous endeavor of correcting a partner: “Well, no, because Indiana law has not been directly tested on the bar exam since Indiana switched to the Uniform Bar Exam in July 2021.”
On one hand, this may illustrate that I am a pedant (and consequently force me to face some painful introspection), but on the other hand, it suggests that many attorneys at different stages in their career—some long removed from the exam and having suppressed its concomitant anxieties—remain unaware of the recent (and forthcoming) changes to bar examination in Indiana, the benefits it affords early-career attorneys, and how it may affect recruiting and retention.
Indiana has embraced multistate components to bar examination for over two decades, having adopted in 2001 the Multistate Bar Examination (a multiple-choice exam) and the Multistate Performance Test (a task-based component, e.g., drafting a memorandum) published by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
From 2001 to 2021, the remaining component of the Indiana Bar Exam was the Indiana Essay Examination, comprised of six written essays on Indiana-specific topics distinct from the MBE.
In December 2018, the Indiana Supreme Court issued an order creating a 14-member Study Commission on the Future of the Indiana Bar Examination, which directed the Study Commission to evaluate (among other matters) whether Indiana should adopt the Uniform Bar Examination, or UBE.
In effect, adopting the UBE meant replacing the Indiana essay component with the six-question Multistate Essay Examination. In a December 2019 report, the Study Commission recommended adopting the UBE, and the first administration occurred in July 2021.
The UBE has been adopted in 41 jurisdictions (39 states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Its scaled scoring system maxes out at 400 points, although scores in the 300s are generally in the 90th percentile, and scores above 330 are generally in the 99th percentile.
Jurisdictions vary slightly in their passing thresholds, with minimum scores ranging from 260 to 270; Indiana’s minimum score falls on the lower end at 264.
For those active on social media, especially on LinkedIn this time of year, the flurry of posts from new bar admittees announcing passing “with a score high enough to practice in any UBE jurisdiction” signals a UBE score of at least 270 that within a certain timeline (between 2 to 5 years, depending on the jurisdiction) can be transferred to other jurisdictions without sitting for another exam.
To that end, the transition to the UBE has introduced an unprecedented level of portability for early-career attorneys in Indiana. Speaking for myself, I have appreciated the flexibility this offers, and I do not feel restricted or stuck in Indiana—rather, practicing here is a choice I willingly make every day.
The increased mobility has implications beyond personal convenience; it directly affects how employers attract and retain early-career attorneys. With fewer barriers to moving across state lines, new attorneys are less anchored to a single state than in previous generations.
While this may initially present a retention challenge, it also creates opportunity for employers to cast a wider net in their recruiting efforts by considering talented out-of-state attorneys with sufficient UBE scores. (Relatedly, the Indiana Supreme Court recently published an order amending the bar admission rules for out-of-state attorneys.) And there is greater opportunity for new attorneys to start building a multi-jurisdictional practice.
Of course, with the switch to the UBE comes a tradeoff—one that the study commission noted during its assessment, which expressed concerns from a minority of the members that the next generation of attorneys might lack exposure to Indiana-specific law.
In response, the Board of Law Examiners requires new attorneys to complete an 8-hour online on-demand course that highlights Indiana specifics across nine topics within the first six months of their admission.
However, as further response to that concern, I share my own perspective: at this stage in my career, I am hyper-aware that gaps in my knowledge and experience exist (even gaps that I do not at this time recognize) and am already prone to extensively researching a legal issue.
Even without Indiana-specific questions on the bar exam, the fear of making a mistake is more than enough motivation to thoroughly familiarize ourselves with the local nuances.
In the end, the shift to the UBE reflects both the evolution of legal practice and the growing expectations of new attorneys. For those of us early in our careers, the portability of our licenses and the broader horizons it opens are valuable assets, giving us flexibility that prior generations didn’t have.
At the same time, it challenges us to dig deeper into state-specific nuances, knowing that our foundation in Indiana law will be built through practice, research, and a commitment to lifelong learning. And while we may face new questions from clients and colleagues alike, we’re prepared to adapt, answer, and grow as Indiana attorneys—by choice, and with pride.•
__________
Dakota Slaughter is an associate in the Bose McKinney & Evans litigation group. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.