California State Bar Lawyer Exits Role Following Exam Chaos

A California State Bar lawyer who worked on admissions left the agency last week, marking the first departure of a high-ranking staff member involved in the February 2025 Bar exam.

Bridget Gramme for a year served as Special Counsel for Consumer Protection, Admissions, Access & Inclusion. State Bar admissions staff reported to her.

Gramme said in a January Board of Trustees meeting that admissions staff worked smoothly with the staff of Meazure Learning, the February 2025 exam administrator that was brought on to help the Bar administer remote exams and save money. She recommended then that the State Bar stick with Meazure for the July 2025 administration.

“Bridget Gramme is moving on to a new chapter in her career and her last day with the State Bar was Friday, March 28,” the State Bar said in a comment Tuesday. “We thank Bridget for all her work at the State Bar, and we wish her well in her future endeavors.”

The State Bar didn’t further address the nature of Gramme’s departure.

Donna Hershkowitz is the new leader for State Bar admissions staff. She submitted a March report to the Board of Trustees recommending the State Bar cut ties with exam administrator Meazure Learning and not try to provide a remote test-taking option in July.

Hershkowitz became the Bar’s Chief of Admissions as of Feb. 24, the State Bar said.

“This is a new role, created by repurposing the former Chief of Mission position, which reflects a broader effort to restructure the State Bar’s Admissions function to strengthen internal support for—and increase accountability of—this critically important work,” the State Bar said.

The February 2025 exam glitched and crashed widely, spurring lawsuits and multiple investigations. The rollout devastated thousands of applicants who, with legal jobs on the line, had invested significant resources into passing the notoriously difficult test.

California Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero has called for a subgroup of the Bar, called the Committee of Bar Examiners, to play a larger role in exam administration as the state’s Supreme Court tightens oversight, though specifics on what this will look like aren’t yet clear.

The Bar’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet Wednesday. The group will hear a presentation on the distinction between the Trustees and the Committee in Bar admissions. They’ll also discuss offering provisional licensure to February applicants and contracts for July testing centers and exam software.