Bar Exam

California’s bar pass rate is at a 29-year low; these states also saw a drop

The percentage of people passing the California bar exam in July 2015 has dropped to 46.6 percent overall, down from 48.6 percent last July. The percentage is the lowest point since July 1986, when only 44.4 percent passed. The pass rate for first time test takers in California also dropped,…

Nov 24, 2015 8:35 AM CST

Worrying has its benefits, study of law grads finds

There is a bright side to anxiety, rumination and pessimism, according to a study of 230 law grads awaiting results of the California bar exam. The study found that law grads who engaged in “defensive pessimism” during the wait responded more productively to bad news and more joyfully to good…

Nov 4, 2015 8:18 AM CST

New York bar pass rates at their lowest point in at least 11 years

Bar pass rates in New York state have fallen to their lowest point in at least 11 years, new figures show. Only 70 percent of first-time test takers passed the July administration of the state bar exam, according to figures (PDF) released Tuesday by the New York State Board of…

Oct 27, 2015 2:35 PM CDT

Law grad seeks to take the bar exam despite conviction for sex-related offenses in 1998

A former Army officer is urging the Ohio Supreme Court to allow him to take the bar exam despite the fact that he was convicted by a military court after trying to set up meetings for sex with underage girls. The court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in the case…

Oct 15, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Bar applicant’s litigation conduct, ‘personal attacks and invective’ are cited in law license denial

A law grad who passed the Massachusetts bar exam in 2008 was initially deemed qualified for a law license, until three lawyers contacted the Board of Bar Examiners to report their concerns about his conduct in divorce litigation. The lawyers represented the wife of the bar applicant, Chandrakant Shridhar Pansé.…

Oct 8, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Will dropping bar passage rates create too few lawyers for available jobs? Experts assess the stats

Should the ABA create its own bar exam? Or should the exam be dropped altogether for top law graduates? Those are some of the ideas suggested by experts weighing in on the continued drop in scores for law graduates taking the multistate portion of the bar exam. Writing at the…

Sep 24, 2015 11:20 AM CDT

Attorneys clash as Florida considers allowing admission on motion for out-of-state lawyers

Opponents called it “stupid,” “dangerous,” and an “error in judgment.” Proponents quoted Mel Gibson in Braveheart and cited Adam Smith. What could have possibly caused such a wide range of reactions? According to the Tampa Bay Times, the clash was over a proposal that would allow lawyers from other states…

Sep 21, 2015 4:53 PM CDT

Some law professors blame student quality for continued drop in bar exam scores

The national mean score of bar exams’ standardized multiple-choice sections fell again for July 2015 test takers, resulting in the average being at its lowest in more than 25 years, the National Conference of Bar Examiners reports. According to Bloomberg Business, the mean score for the July 2015 multiple choice…

Sep 21, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Bar licensing groups urged to tread carefully when asking about mental health

Over some opposition, the ABA’s House of Delegates passed a resolution Monday urging lawyer licensing entities to focus on behavior rather than diagnoses when asking about mental health. In the winter of 2014, the Louisiana Supreme Court and Vermont Human Rights Commission received Department of Justice letters advising them that…

Aug 3, 2015 1:46 PM CDT

California bar exam to be one day shorter, but could be just as difficult

California bar officials have voted to cut the length of the state’s bar exam from three days to two. The change, approved unanimously Monday by the State Bar of California’s board of trustees, will take effect in July 2017, Above the Law reports. The two-day exam will include one day…

Jul 28, 2015 1:00 PM CDT

Brothers had Rhode Island practice for 18 years despite never passing state bar

A Massachusetts lawyer failed the Rhode Island bar exam eight times, while his lawyer brother never took the state’s bar exam at all, yet they maintained a law office in the state for 18 years, according to court records and a committee report forwarded to Rhode Island’s attorney general. Samuel…

Jul 23, 2015 8:26 AM CDT

Immigrant who won NY court OK to practice faces political-protest probation roadblock

A Mexican immigrant illegally brought to this country as a young child won a landmark ruling last month from a New York appeals court. It said Cesar Vargas, now a 31-year-old law graduate, can be licensed to practice law in New York despite his immigration status. However, because he is…

Jul 8, 2015 4:15 PM CDT

ExamSoft settles ‘barmageddon’ suit; did problems lead to lower exam scores?

Bar exam takers who experienced delays and failures when trying to upload completed exams last July are entitled to $90 each as a result of a class action settlement. The software maker, ExamSoft Worldwide Inc., agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle a class action in five consolidated lawsuits, the…

May 18, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

New York will use Uniform Bar Exam to test bar applicants, starting in July 2016

Starting in July 2016, the Uniform Bar Exam will be administered to those seeking admission to practice law in New York state. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman announced the plan in a Law Day speech on the steps of the New York Court of Appeals in Albany, the Times Union reports.…

May 5, 2015 12:00 PM CDT

Report: DOJ is investigating mental-health screening of bar applicants by Florida’s top court

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the mental-health screening imposed by the Florida Supreme Court on bar applicants. In a December letter, the DOJ notified Chief Justice Jorge Labarga of the probe and asked for information about the mental-health questions posed to applicants, conditional admission procedures and whether hearings…

Mar 26, 2015 4:20 PM CDT