First Supervised Practice Portfolio Exam in the Books

Five attorneys earned their law licenses through Oregon’s inaugural Supervised Practice Portfolio Exam (SPPE), and four of them are Lewis & Clark Law School grads.

  • Aisha Amiri Aisha Amiri
  • Haley Sinclair Haley Sinclair
  • Beth Sethi Beth Sethi
  • Kendra Summers Kendra Summers

Five attorneys earned their law licenses through Oregon’s inaugural Supervised Practice Portfolio Exam (SPPE), and four of them (pictured above) are Lewis & Clark Law School grads. With the SPPE, law school graduates qualify for licensure by completing 675 hours of supervised legal practice under a licensed Oregon attorney and submitting a portfolio of legal work to the Oregon Board of Bar Examiners that demonstrates their competence.

SPPE program participants cite balancing law school with family responsibilities and wanting a more hands-on, practical training pathway to practice as reasons it was a perfect fit for them. “I went to law school to be an immigration attorney, and being able to get right to work rather than spend several months studying for the bar feels like a gift,” says Beth Sethi, noting that the bar exam doesn’t test core skills needed for immigration law, like legal research and writing, client counseling, and courtroom advocacy.

Kendra Summers, a single mother of two, says the SPPE was a great solution, allowing her to work while completing licensure requirements. “Ultimately, the time I spent working as a judicial clerk gave me more valuable and relevant experience than studying for the bar might have, and I am grateful for the program.”

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Dean Alicia Ouellette chats with law students.