State Bar & Bar Associations,
Legal Education
Dec. 17, 2021
Redlining the legal profession
The recent statistics for the July 2021 California bar exam present further evidence that the process of lawyer licensing in California, similarly “redlines” entry into the practice of law.
Mitchel L. Winick
President and Dean
Monterey College of Law
Mitchel is president and dean of a non-profit California accredited law school system that includes Monterey College of Law, San Luis Obispo College of Law, and Kern County College of Law. He was one of eight deans invited by the California Supreme Court to an informal meeting in October 2019 to discuss concerns about the California bar exam. He is former chair of the Committee of Bar Examiners Rules Advisory Committee and a former member of the Law School Council representing the California Accredited Law Schools.
The process of "redlining" refers to the use of artificial boundaries to limit access by race or ethnicity. The process was rendered illegal through federal laws in housing and banking in 1968 because it was discriminatory in effect (if not in purpose). The recent statistics for the July 2021 California bar exam present further evidence that the process of lawyer licensing in California, similarly "redlines" entry into the practice of law.
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