The nice thing about California's bar exam is that you need nothing more. You don't need to take expensive classes. Just learn the material, pass the exam, and you are a lawyer. Other states require law school.
The schools want it easier, helping them to produce more lawyers. (incompetent ones) Perhaps they'd like to require law school too? I'm sure they would.
I would never hire a lawyer who did not go to law school. I guess I see some value in the bar exam - it requires you to learn a bit about some of the law in the state in which you plan to practice. But the skills you learn in law school are invaluable to the practice of law.
The schools want it easier, helping them to produce more lawyers. (incompetent ones) Perhaps they'd like to require law school too? I'm sure they would.