California Justices Direct In-Person Administration of July Bar

The California Supreme Court told the State Bar to return to a traditional, in-person format for the July licensing exam, saying it is “deeply concerned” about problems reported with the new February exam.

The directive from the justices, who have full power over the Bar’s lawyer admissions practices, aligns with pleas from law school deans and a report from Bar staff urging the Bar to ditch its attempt to provide a California-specific exam with a remote option.

The State Bar’s Board of Trustees will meet Wednesday to discuss the future of the exam. Bar staff said in a recent report that the Bar must cut ties with Meazure Learning, the company contracted to proctor the exam, even though the move will be expensive for the financially-strapped regulatory body.

The California Supreme Court last week requested a detailed report from the State Bar and Meazure Learning describing the problems test takers experienced, according to statement Tuesday.

“This information is crucial in informing how the court will provide appropriate remedies for affected applicants who deserved and expected better,” the statement said.

Students reported severe technical glitches and customer service issues when they sat for the brand-new California exam last week. Some said the exam questions appeared drawn from experimental or practice questions published in the fall.

California law school deans, after reports from test takers emerged, asked in a Monday letter to the California Supreme Court that candidates who failed the February Bar exam be offered provisional licenses, letting them practice law temporarily under an attorney’s supervision.

The coalition of deans, including Erwin Chemerinsky of UC Berkeley Law and George Triantis of Stanford Law School, also urged for a return to in-person test administration in July. They said they’d offer space on campuses across the state at no charge to help alleviate the financial burden, adding one campus was used as a testing site in February.

A proposed class action was filed Thursday against Meazure, and a second, similar lawsuit followed on Monday. A California lawmaker announced Friday he will launch an investigation into the Bar’s handling of the February exam.