In an action which will become retroactive to the past five years, the Alaska Supreme Court on Monday signed SCO 2002 lowering the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) minimum passing score required for admission to practice law in Alaska from 280 to 270. The rule is effective immediately.
Following a recommendation from the Alaska Bar Association, the Alaska Supreme Court’s lowered the minimum score needed to pass the bar exam and practice law as an attorney in the state; changes the minimum score from 280 to 270, putting Alaska in line with most other states that use the same testing format.
Prior to the recent signing of SCO 2002, Alaska had the highest minimum score requirement in the nation, which may have contributed to a shortage. The change applies retroactively up to five years; individuals who took the exam either in Alaska or in another state and received a score under 280 but above 270 will now be able to apply to become bar members in Alaska.
Through reciprocity, the State of Alaska allows for admission to the Alaska Bar without sitting for the bar exam, upon fulfillment of several conditions that include:
- having obtained an initial law degree from an approved law school;
- having passed a written bar exam required by another reciprocal jurisdiction; and
- having practiced law in one or more United States jurisdictions for five of the past seven years.
If an applicant fulfills all of the other requirements and has attained a scaled UBE score of at least 280 in another jurisdiction within 5 years before the date of their application to the Alaska Bar Association, then the applicant may be admitted to the Alaska Bar Association.