Bar Exam

More Stress for Calif. Bar Takers: An Earthquake

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This question wasn’t on the California bar exam. But it was on the mind of many Los Angeles area test-takers yesterday, after a magnitude 5.4 earthquake centered about 30 miles south of the city rattled the area, just as they were finishing up the morning portion of the exam.

If an earthquake strikes while you are taking the bar, do you get additional time?

The preliminary answer to that question appears to be no. But bar exam officials are looking the situation, reports the National Law Journal.

“Any interruption weighs heavily upon the takers,” says Robert Hawley, the State Bar of California deputy executive director. Although he says he received no reports of health or safety issues, officials are investigating and will make a report to the bar examiners committee about the quake’s possible impact on test scores.

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