Kudos to Michigan: A Call to Others for Transparency in the Transition to NextGen Bar Exam
As law students across the country prepare for an evolving bar exam landscape, uncertainty looms. Michigan, however, has taken a commendable step forward.
On September 30, the Michigan Board of Law Examiners announced that it will continue to administer the Uniform Bar Examination through February 2028. This date marks the final administration of the UBE, as the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), who drafts the UBE, will no longer make the exam available to jurisdictions after that time.
As the Board’s announcement explained, this decision provides much-needed certainty: “The decision to administer the test through February 2028 is intended to provide law students and schools with certainty as to which bar examination the Board will administer through February 2028.”
“The decision to administer the test through February 2028 is intended to provide law students and schools with certainty as to which bar examination the Board will administer through February 2028.”
Michigan’s decision to continue administering the UBE through February 2028 offers much-needed clarity during this period of transition. For current law students, this decision has particularly important implications. First-year law students starting this Fall will likely graduate in spring 2027, meaning they will still be able to sit for the UBE upon graduation. This provides them with the certainty they need to prepare for a known exam format throughout their legal education.
Currently, 25 jurisdictions have announced their intention to adopt the NextGen Bar Exam. Some plan to administer it as early as July 2026 (the first opportunity to do so), while others will wait until 2027 or 2028. However, about half of the jurisdictions that currently use the UBE have not yet made any announcements about their plans regarding the NextGen Bar Exam.
This uncertainty has a direct impact on students. The stress of preparing for the bar exam is already immense. Confusion about which exam format will exist when they prepare for the bar exam only intensifies that pressure. When students don’t know whether they’ll be taking the NextGen Bar Exam, the UBE, or some other exam, it’s harder for them to be fully prepared.
While Michigan’s decision is reassuring, it raises a larger issue: How many other jurisdictions will provide similar transparency about their bar exam plans?
As a law professor who helps students prepare for the bar exam, my primary concern is the uncertainty this creates for students. Law schools are fully equipped to teach the foundational concepts and practical skills required for any bar exam. But this is not about favoring one exam over the other. Rather, it’s about reducing student anxiety and giving them the certainty they need to plan effectively.
The NextGen Bar Exam represents a shift in licensure, placing a greater emphasis on practice-ready skills and a more integrated approach to legal knowledge. While the current UBE already tests critical thinking and analytical skills, the NextGen exam aims to more closely align with the realities of modern legal practice. Rather than testing isolated subjects, it emphasizes problem-solving, applying legal principles across multiple practice areas, and preparing candidates to handle the practical challenges they’ll face as lawyers. Many view this as a step toward more comprehensively evaluating future attorneys' readiness for practice.
Regardless of opinions on the NextGen Bar Exam, the real issue is not whether the new format is better or worse—it’s about providing clarity for students. Michigan’s decision to continue administering the UBE through February 2028 offers current students wanting to sit for the Michigan bar exam a clear path forward. This allows them to plan their study strategies and timelines without unnecessary distractions or uncertainty.
For those jurisdictions that choose not to adopt the NextGen Bar Exam after the UBE’s sunset, alternative approaches to bar licensure must be explored. Some states, like California and Nevada, have already announced plans to develop their own licensing exams, while other jurisdictions are exploring alternative pathways to licensure, such as apprenticeship models. Any state choosing not to adopt NextGen needs to clearly communicate these plans to ensure students know what to expect.
At its core, this is not a debate about which path to licensure is best, but about the need for transparency. The longer jurisdictions delay in providing clarity, the more stress and anxiety they impose on students who are already navigating the high-stakes world of bar licensure. Clear communication is essential to support law students, who have invested years of hard work and sacrifice in pursuit of becoming licensed attorneys. Law schools are ready. Professors are ready. But students need certainty so they can be ready, too.
Michigan’s leadership in providing a clear timeline is commendable. Other jurisdictions should follow their example, offering clear and definitive guidance to reduce student anxiety and allow them to focus on their studies with confidence.
