B.C. law students begin new skills-based bar training as Ontario considers change

Law students in British Columbia are starting a new skillsbased training program this fall that replaces the traditional bar exam. The change affects students at law schools across the province and comes as Ontario continues to debate whether it should make a similar switch. B.C. is now the sixth province or territory to move away from a bar exam in favour of a fourpart program that tests legal knowledge, advocacy, ethics, and practice management. The provincial law society introduced the change last October, saying legal training should better reflect the skills needed in modern practice. Ontario’s law society raised the idea of a similar overhaul about a month later, but it has not yet made a decision. Some lawyers and graduates support the change, saying the current exam can favour speed over practical legal ability, while others argue the exam remains a fair, objective test. Recent graduates in B.C. said the new model could be more useful, especially as artificial intelligence changes how junior lawyers work. Still, they also noted the transition may be challenging for the first students to go through the new system, especially while completing articling placements.