California Judicial Branch

09/25/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/25/2025 15:14

California Supreme Court Approves Amendments to Rules Governing the Bar Exam and Attorney Conduct

Court orders amending Title Nine and Rule 9.7

The California Supreme Court on Thursday approved a series of amendments to the California Rules of Court related to oversight of the California Bar Exam, attorney admissions, and rules addressing attorney civility. The new rules will become effective on October 1.

Amendments to the Bar Exam and Attorney Admissions Rules

Following a public comment period and joint review by the Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE) and the State Bar Board of Trustees, the court adopted amendments largely reflecting the court's May 2025 proposals :

Oversight of the Bar Exam

Require the CBE to:

  • Review all exam questions (Rule 9.6(a)(1)).
  • Establish standards for selecting subject matter experts and validation panelists to review new exam questions (Rule 9.6(a)(2)).
  • Develop standards for accrediting any third-party vendor's ability to administer or proctor the exam either in-person or online (Rule 9.6(a)(3)).

Administrative and Fiscal Authority

  • Reinstate the CBE's authority to issue subpoenas in admissions matters (Rule 9.5(b)(1)).
  • Restore the CBE's oversight of the Office of Admissions' budget (Rule 9.5(b)(2)).
  • Authorize the CBE to set all admissions-related fees, including bar exam and law school accreditation fees (Rule 9.5(b)(5)).

Governance and Appointment Procedures

  • Clarify the nomination and appointment procedures for CBE members, including disqualification criteria (Rule 9.4).
  • Require the CBE to recommend any candidate under consideration for the Chief of Admissions (Rule 9.5(b)(3)).

Examination Reform

  • Mandate a cost-benefit analysis for any proposed changes to the bar exam, including feasibility, cost-effectiveness, the required staff resources, the "estimated timeframe required to competently implement the proposed changes," and "[w]hether the proposed changes have previously demonstrated their efficacy under testing conditions similar to those of the bar examination" (Rule 9.6(b)).

Judicial Review and Depublication

  • Introduce Rule 9.16.1, consolidating procedures for the Supreme Court's review of State Bar-related matters.
  • Create Rule 9.16.2, establishing procedures for requests to depublish State Bar Court decisions.

The court approved several revisions to the amendments, including:

  • Requiring the CBE to make publicly available the various standards it must develop under new rule 9.6.
  • Ensuring that, in selecting a vendor to draft Bar Exam questions, the vendor has "no financial interest in other matters that might create a conflict of interest with the State Bar or with the vendor's ability to draft fair and reliable exam questions."

Proposed Rules on Attorney Incivility

The court partially granted the State Bar's request to implement rules promoting civility among attorneys but rejected the proposal defining incivility as disciplinable misconduct.

Amendments to rule 9.7 of the California Rules of Court now require attorneys to annually reaffirm the full attorney's oath, including a pledge to support the United States and California Constitutions and to uphold civility.

The court declined to adopt the request's proposed definition of "incivility" and to subject such conduct to discipline under the California Rules of Professional Conduct, citing concerns about potential vagueness and First Amendment implications.

Instead, the court encouraged the State Bar to explore alternative measures, such as codifying existing case law "reducing requests for attorney fees based on an attorney's incivility" and studying the impact of new continuing education requirements on attorney civility.

California Judicial Branch published this content on September 25, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 25, 2025 at 21:14 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]