John McAlary Elected Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Conference of Bar Examiners

MADISON, WISCONSIN, October 19, 2023 — John McAlary has been elected Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE). NCBE develops the licensing tests used by most states for admission to the bar.

McAlary is the Executive Director of the New York State Board of Law Examiners, a role he has held since 2004. He joined the Board of Law Examiners as Deputy Director in 1998. Previously, he was a staff attorney for the Attorney Grievance Committee for the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, and an associate at an Albany litigation firm. He is a past chair of the Council of Bar Admission Administrators and served as chair or vice-chair of several CBAA committees. He has served on NCBE’s Board of Trustees since 2016, during which time he has led numerous NCBE committees, and is licensed to practice in the state of New York. McAlary holds a JD from Albany Law School and a BA from the State University of New York at Oneonta.

“I am honored to have been selected to serve as NCBE Chair,” said McAlary. “I look forward to working closely with the other trustees, NCBE’s president, Judy Gundersen, and NCBE’s talented and dedicated staff on its many initiatives, including the continued development of the NextGen bar examination, as we work to fulfill NCBE’s mission of promoting fairness, integrity, and best practices in bar admissions.”

About the National Conference of Bar Examiners

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1931. NCBE promotes fairness, integrity, and best practices in bar admissions for the benefit and protection of the public, in pursuit of its vision of a competent, ethical, and diverse legal profession. Best known for developing bar exam content used by 54 US jurisdictions, NCBE serves admission authorities, courts, the legal education community, and candidates by providing high-quality assessment products, services, and research; character investigations; and informational and educational resources and programs. In 2026, NCBE will launch the next generation of the bar examination, ensuring that the exam continues to test the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for competent entry-level legal practice in a changing profession. For more information, visit the NCBE website at https://www.ncbex.org.