ABA Journal

Bar Exam

540 ABA Journal Bar Exam articles.

Suggestions for a different bar exam approved by NCBE board of trustees

Recommendations for bar exam changes, including new types of questions and the evaluation of options for computer-delivered tests with in-person proctoring, were adopted Thursday by the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ board of trustees.

California allows retroactive bar admission with supervised practice

People who previously flunked the California bar exam but would have passed under a recently changed cut score can now obtain law licenses if they complete 300 hours of supervised practice.

Man who was told he failed bar exam actually passed, and he blames software

When Colin Darnell received word in December that he did not pass New York’s online bar exam, he had a feeling the scoring may have been wrong because he was one of various people with software problems during the test.

While many jurisdictions had few or no online bar exam testing violations, California had many

Following the administration of the first online remotely proctored bar exam in October, California appears to have sent out significantly more notices of potential testing violations than other large jurisdictions.

California releases bar exam results, and like many jurisdictions sees increase in pass rates

Out of the 9,301 people who sat for California’s online bar exam in October, the pass rate was 60.7%, according to a Jan. 8 news release from the State Bar of California.

Big changes for bar exam suggested by NCBE testing task force

Bar exams of the future should be delivered online as an integrated test with scenarios to answer questions from, rather than in, sections with different formats, according to preliminary recommendations released Monday by the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ testing task force.

Will paper bar exams become a thing of the past?

While there’s significant disagreement on how the bar exam should change, many believe it will, and there’s a wide range of ideas about what should happen.

Top 10 stories of 2020

When we look back at our most-read stories every year, there is usually a pretty eclectic mix. Our readers tend to like unusual headlines, lawyer discipline stories and legal education news. But this year’s most-read stories were fittingly more serious.

Thousands of California bar exam takers have video files flagged for review

More than 3,000 people who sat for the State Bar of California’s remote October exam had their proctoring videos flagged for review, and dozens report receiving violation notices from the agency’s office of admissions.

Higher pass rate but smaller pool for New York’s online bar exam

New York’s bar exam, administered online in October, had an overall pass rate of 84%.

According to a news release from the New York Board of Law Examiners, 5,150…

Jurisdictions with COVID-19-related diploma privilege are going back to bar exam admissions

As of Dec. 3, the five jurisdictions with emergency diploma privilege precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic had announced plans for a remote bar exam in February 2021. None of the jurisdictions has yet released plans for July 2021 admissions, but law school deans in those regions are telling third-year students to plan for a bar exam.

After being told they passed the bar, a group of Kentucky applicants find out otherwise

Because of an administrative error, 15 Kentucky bar applicants were incorrectly told that they passed the October remote bar exam.

Afternoon Briefs: Good news for law grad who took bar exam while in labor; Boies Schiller leader leaves

Law grad passes bar exam after taking the test while in labor

A graduate of the Loyola University Chicago School of Law has passed the bar exam, even though she…

Pandemic problems may be defense for law schools not meeting bar passage standard

Law schools now must report the number of recent graduates admitted by diploma privilege in their annual questionnaires in addition to those who took and passed a bar exam.

Law grad who flunked bar exam gets prison time for creating law firms and practicing law

A 2014 graduate of the Stetson University College of Law was sentenced to prison time Wednesday for practicing law even though she flunked the bar exam twice.

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