Lewis & Clark Law School Finally Acknowledges Theft Of Exams

The law school at the center of a theft controversy breaks its silence.

thief theft thievery crimeAs we’ve reported, the answer sheets of the most recent MPRE administered at Lewis & Clark Law School were stolen from the car of a school administration official. LSAC, the organization that administers the exam, sat on the information until we broke the story, but given the crappy situation they find themselves in, they offered an appropriate response — refunding test takers’ money and offering re-test dates.

But shockingly quiet about the entire matter has been the law school itself. It was something that stood out to the students that took the exam, most of whom are Lewis & Clark Law students themselves. In fact, here at Above the Law we received several inquiries about Lewis & Clark’s response, or more accurately lack thereof:

I am writing because Lewis & Clark Law has still not acknowledged in any way, whatsoever that this happened, as of 8 p.m. PST Thursday. I emailed the dean of students at 7 a.m. this morning to ask what practices Lewis & Clark Law plan to change, and how this faculty member will be held accountable. I know at least two of my classmates also sent the same inquiry. I also inquired to LC’s Facebook page. No one, to my knowledge, has received ANY acknowledgment from Lewis & Clark that this ever happened.

My motivation in writing you, frankly, is because I want to push Lewis & Clark to acknowledge their negligence. We’ve yet to get so much as “no comment, there’s an ongoing investigation.” As you know, they knew of this by Monday morning at the latest. Why have they failed to provide notice to students that our social security numbers have been compromised for nearly a week?

Well, wait no more. Last night the law school finally broke its silence. We contacted Lewis & Clark before our first story on the incident, but they only referred us to LSAC (which had already provided a statement), but now they have comment:

The law school cannot comment on the details of the investigation of this matter, but similar to the statement from the Law School Admissions Council, we can confirm that there was a theft of the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) answer sheets after the test was administered at Lewis & Clark Law School on Saturday, August 13. We are deeply sorry for this unfortunate incident and the effect it has on the students who took the exam that day. The answer sheets were locked in the trunk of the MPRE site coordinator’s car, which was located off campus at the time of the theft. The MPRE site coordinator at this administration was a Lewis & Clark employee. A police report was filed and, while an investigation is ongoing, we believe this was a petty theft and not related to the MPRE exam. Other items were also taken from the car, including a backpack and a personal computer. As you are aware, LSAC has notified the students affected and has provided information about registration fee refunds and a makeup exam.

Good of you to join the party, Lewis & Clark. Acknowledging what we all know to be true is the first step.

The good news is that they don’t think the crime is related to the MPRE, though that is cold comfort to those who have to retake the exam.

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Earlier: The Case Of The Stolen Exams Leaves Students In A Lurch
Students Finally Told Their Exam Was Stolen — They Are Pissed


Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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