News Releases

Groundbreaking All-Attorney Survey Analyzing the State of California Law Practice Now Open

The California Attorney Practice Analysis (CAPA) survey is now open to all active California attorneys. Attorneys today received an email invitation with a unique link to participate in the unprecedented survey, open until August 31.  

 “CAPA is one of the broadest and most important studies the State Bar is currently undertaking,” said Jason P. Lee, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “The project is taking a fresh look at the current practice of law in California. We hope it will be as complete and accurate a snapshot as possible, and we encourage all California attorneys to participate.”

The goal is to collect detailed, empirical data about how attorneys use their knowledge and skills to perform routine tasks, with a particular focus on what new attorneys need to know and do. This data will form the foundation for revisiting the relevance and currency of California bar exam content, as well as exam format, cut score, and other aspects of the test.

Participants are assigned at random to one of three groups to complete:

• A California-specific survey, which requires approximately 45 to 60 minutes to complete;
• A national survey fielded by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, of similar subject matter and length; or
• An Experience Sampling study, a method that involves brief responses to short, simple questions about current tasks, twice a day, for one business week. More information about ESM.

Those who complete the survey will be eligible to receive one hour of MCLE credit. To earn the credit, attorneys will need to read a short article on legal ethics and answer a brief quiz, available in September.

To build awareness for CAPA, the State Bar has undertaken a unique video and social media campaign under the hashtag #LawPractice2020, featuring interviews with a diverse group of California attorneys. The videos are posted on the State Bar homepage and here.

Numerous California attorneys have already contributed to the study, via the CAPA Working Group, as well as expert panels who helped formulate the knowledge domains on which the survey is based, on focus groups, in beta tests of the survey.

CAPA is funded by a grant from the AccessLex Institute. Castle Worldwide is the vendor conducting the study.

More information

Fact Sheet: Attorney Practice Analysis for the California Bar Exam

 

Follow the State Bar online
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram

###

The State Bar of California's mission is to protect the public and includes the primary functions of licensing, regulation and discipline of attorneys; the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.