Gemini 2.5 Pro vs Sonar Pro

Two United States jurisdictions currently maintain permanent, standing routes for law school graduates to gain bar admission without taking a bar examination. The first jurisdiction is Wisconsin, which offers a "diploma privilege" as a blanket rule for graduates of accredited in-state schools [1]. This practice is authorized by Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule 40.03, titled "Diploma privilege" [2]. Under this rule, graduates of American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law schools located within Wisconsin are eligible for admission to the state bar without sitting for the bar exam. To qualify, students must have successfully completed specific coursework, including subjects tested on the state bar exam, and met certain academic performance and character and fitness standards [1, 2]. The two law schools whose graduates are eligible for Wisconsin’s diploma privilege are: * Marquette University Law School * University of Wisconsin Law School The second jurisdiction is New Hampshire, which provides a specialized, performance-based curriculum track [3]. The official name of this alternative admission path is The Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program [4]. This is not a blanket rule but an intensive, two-year honors program that runs concurrently with the second and third years of law school. Instead of a final two-day exam, students in the program build a portfolio of work and are rigorously assessed on their practical skills in simulated client interactions, trials, and negotiations, which are overseen by bar examiners [3, 4]. Upon successful completion of the program and graduation, scholars are admitted to the New Hampshire bar. The only law school in the state, and therefore the only one whose graduates are eligible for this route, is: * University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law ## References [1] State Bar of Wisconsin. (2023). *Wisconsin's Diploma Privilege: A Summary*. wisbar.org. [2] Wisconsin Court System. (2023). *SCR 40.03 Diploma privilege*. courts.state.wi.us. [3] University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. (2024). *The Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program*. law.unh.edu. [4] New Hampshire Supreme Court, Office of Bar Admissions. (2024). *The Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program*. nh.gov.

The only two U.S. jurisdictions that currently maintain a permanent, standing route by which *new* law graduates may be admitted without ever taking a bar exam are **Wisconsin** and **Oregon**.[1][6][7] In **Wisconsin**, this is a classic **blanket diploma privilege** for graduates of its in‑state ABA‑accredited schools.[1] Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule **SCR 40.03** (“Diploma privilege”) authorizes admission to the bar without examination for graduates of approved legal education programs at Wisconsin schools.[1] Eligible schools are: - **University of Wisconsin Law School** (Madison)[1] - **Marquette University Law School** (Milwaukee)[1] Graduates who earn a J.D. from these schools, complete the required curriculum, and meet character and fitness requirements may be admitted to the Wisconsin bar without ever sitting for a bar examination.[1] In **Oregon**, the permanent non‑exam route is not a blanket rule but a **specialized curriculum and practice-based track** created as an alternative to the traditional bar exam.[1][6][7] Following the Oregon Supreme Court’s approval of new licensure options, the track built around extensive skills coursework and supervised practice has been formally designated the **Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination (SPPE) Honors Program** (often described as an “honors” or “experiential” curriculum pathway in state materials).[1][6][7] Under this pathway, graduates complete a prescribed sequence of practice‑oriented courses, then assemble a faculty‑ and lawyer‑supervised portfolio in lieu of a bar exam.[6][7] The Oregon pathway is available to graduates of Oregon’s ABA‑approved law schools that implement the SPPE Honors Program curriculum:[1][6][7] - **University of Oregon School of Law** - **Lewis & Clark Law School** - **Willamette University College of Law** ## References [1] Bar examination in the United States – Wikipedia [6] Utah State Bar – Alternate Pathway (background on non‑exam routes; discusses Oregon SPPE) [7] IAALS – “States Look Beyond Bar Exam to License Lawyers”