An Inside Higher Ed story today informs us that Washington & Lee Law School is trying to make the third year more practical by having more “experiential” learning.
A better idea, although not from the standpoint of law schools, would be to allow students to take the bar exam after their second year. The experiential learning they’d get in actual law offices would be better than anything they’d get in school.
If someone is ready to take the bar exam (or thinks so, at least) after any period of study, formal or informal, he ought to be allowed to do so.