ABA Journal

Bar Exam

549 ABA Journal Bar Exam articles.

What can bar applicants learn from the October 2020 exam?

For the 30 jurisdictions offering a remote bar exam in a few weeks, there are hopes the technology has improved since last year’s administrations, when candidates reported issues with facial authentication technology, software crashes and problems uploading videos. However, those who work in academic support advise July 2021 candidates to develop a worst-case scenario plan.

State supreme court asked to consider new licensure paths for lawyers

The Oregon State Bar Board of Bar Examiners has adopted a task force report suggesting supervised practice or law school experiential-learning programs as bar exam alternatives for attorney licensure.

New ABA data parses out bar exam pass rates by race and ethnicity

According to data released Tuesday by the American Bar Association's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, 87.65% of the white candidates who took a bar exam for the first time in 2020 passed. For people of other races or ethnicities, the first-time pass rate ranged from 66.28% to 79.92%.

With criticisms of the NCBE, New York bar group suggests state create its own bar exam

A task force of the New York State Bar Association has recommended that the jurisdiction adopt its own bar exam and stop using the uniform bar exam, which is developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Making brown-bag meals for the needy helped this law student stay busy and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic

Assembling sandwiches helped recent law school graduate Jacqueline Ingles focus during remote classes, and over the past year she made more than a thousand of them for the Chicago Help Initiative, a nonprofit group that takes food to pantries and free meal sites.

Online bar exams axed by NCBE beginning next year

Law grads taking bar exams developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners next year should expect to take the test in person.

These factors help predict whether a law grad will pass the bar on the first or second try, study says

A survey of law graduates who took the New York bar exam in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic has identified six factors that contribute to success.

Florida Coastal’s teach-out plan rejected again; another school demonstrates compliance on bar pass rates

For the second time in a month, the council and an executive committee of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has rejected a teach-out plan submitted by the Florida Coastal School of Law.

What associates have to know about making a lateral move to a new market out of state

The days when attorneys remained loyal to one firm for decades are, for the most part, long gone.

What comes next for law schools with two-year bar pass rates below 75%?

Of the 10 law schools that in 2020 received noncompliance notices for having two-year bar passage rates below 75%, half appear to again have pass rates that do not meet that threshold, according to ABA data released in April.

California bar entered $3.8M contract with ExamSoft without justifying value, auditor report says

When the State Bar of California selected ExamSoft as the software provider for its October 2020 remote bar exam, the test was administered appropriately, but the bar did not follow a procurement policy for outside vendors, according to a state auditor report.

2nd Circuit tosses Harvard Law grad’s Rehabilitation Act claim over bar exam accommodations

The New York State Board of Law Examiners has sovereign immunity from a lawsuit claim by a Harvard Law School graduate who sued over failure to accommodate her anxiety-related disability, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Data shows increase in both first-time and 2-year bar exam pass rates

Despite the coronavirus chaos around July 2020 bar exams—including health fears for in-person bars, software problems with remote tests and jurisdictions making last-minute date and format changes—the first-time pass rate actually increased from the previous year.

Several states consider lowering cut scores on bar exam, making it easier to pass

Rhode Island has followed California’s lead in lowering the bar exam cut score to make the test easier to pass, a step that several other states are also considering.

A COVID-19 year in review: Courts, juries and technology

Happy anniversary. It’s been about one year now since the world was introduced to the coronavirus pandemic. What else can we say? This is as good a time as any to reflect on the changes to the world, especially to the world of law.

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