Bar Exam

Provisional licenses considered as another California bar exam remedy

Bar candidates who failed or withdrew from February’s problem-plagued California bar exam would be eligible to work under the supervision of an experienced attorney until they could pass the exam, according to the State Bar of California board of trustee’s latest proposal.

May 14, 2025 9:29 AM CDT

Should law schools have more hands-on learning requirements?

Law students will need to get twice as much practical, hands-on experience before graduation if a proposal by the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions moves forward.

May 12, 2025 4:30 PM CDT

California state bar sues vendor after troubled exam

Now facing an audit itself, the State Bar of California is suing ProctorU, the vendor that administered the ill-fated February launch of the state’s remote and hybrid exam, alleging the company failed to deliver on its claims that it was capable of handling the needs of bar examinees.

May 7, 2025 9:22 AM CDT

California Supreme Court orders return to Multistate Bar Examination, lowers bar pass score

The State Bar of California, still reeling from the disastrous February launch of its bar exam written in conjunction with Kaplan, was recently hit with California Supreme Court orders mandating the return to the Multistate Bar Examination in July and lowering the bar pass score for the February examinees.

May 6, 2025 1:45 PM CDT

More than half of reporting states see drop in February bar pass rates

More than half of the states reporting results from February’s bar exam saw drops in overall pass rates, with most reporting a 50% or lower pass rate, according to statistics collected by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

May 1, 2025 4:11 PM CDT

California delays releasing results from troubled February bar exam

The State Bar of California will not be able release the much-anticipated results of the problem-plagued February bar exam on Friday as initially intended.

Apr 30, 2025 8:47 AM CDT

Some of California’s troubled bar exam was drafted by nonlawyers with help from artificial intelligence

Updated: Despite a multimillion dollar contract with Kaplan to create its new bar exam, the State Bar of California recycled some questions and had its independent psychometrician draft portions of its new bar exam’s multiple-choice questions with help from artificial intelligence, according to a news release.

Apr 24, 2025 10:00 AM CDT

California still considering its options to remedy the flubbed bar exam

Updated: The State Bar of California’s board of trustees decided April 2 to hold off approving provisional licensing for February bar exam participants while it considers other options.

Apr 3, 2025 4:23 PM CDT

Multistate Bar Examination score drops full point for February exam

The national mean scale score for the February Multistate Bar Examination has decreased a full point, from 131.8 in February 2024 to 130.8 in February 2025, according to the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Mar 28, 2025 11:17 AM CDT

State Bar of California considers provisional licenses for February bar exam takers

Updated: The State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners has placed the option of provisional licenses for candidates who fail or withdrew from the February California bar exam on the table.

Mar 17, 2025 2:32 PM CDT

Plans for California bar retake change yet again

Updated: The State Bar of California has rejected a request from the under-fire company that administered last month’s test for the retake exam dates to be pushed back further.

Mar 14, 2025 1:34 PM CDT

More first-time bar candidates passed exam in 2024, new ABA data shows

The percentage of successful first-time bar exam takers in 2024 increased more than 3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to data released Wednesday by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

Mar 12, 2025 2:25 PM CDT

Texas commits to NextGen bar exam starting in 2028, NCBE says

Texas will begin administering the NextGen bar exam starting in July 2028, joining 36 of the 56 jurisdictions that test bar candidates, according to a March 11 press release from the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Mar 11, 2025 2:29 PM CDT

Furious bar candidates square off with State Bar of California in wake of flubbed exam

Testimonies from examinees detailed delayed start times, rude proctors, technical glitches, grammatical and factual errors in the questions, rampant cheating, and a host of distractions—including proctors arguing and fellow test-takers screaming out of frustration.

Mar 6, 2025 3:36 PM CST

As fallout rains down, California considers return to in-person bar exam

Updated: The flurry of finger-pointing and attempts at rectifying the fallout from the disastrous February administration of California’s new bar exam continues, as the State Bar of California considers returning to an in-person administration for the July exam, scrutinizes its vendor’s failed performance for possible breach of contract, and faces a potential audit.

Mar 4, 2025 9:02 AM CST