Hundreds Of Law School Grads Seek Refunds After California Bar Exam Essay Topic Leak

That's tens of thousands of dollars in refunds owed to would-be lawyers.

onAugust 5, 2019 at 4:46 PMAugust 6, 2019 at 2:17 PM

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The preliminary no-show rate for the July 2019 California Bar Exam was higher than previous July Bar Exams; approximately 8% of applicants did not show up for the exam. For both the July 2017 and July 2018 California Bar Exam, the “no show” rate was 6.6%. In 2017, 652 July CA Bar Exam applicants did not attend the exam; in 2018 that number was 608, and for this year’s July CA Bar Exam, 768 did not attend. With regard to refunds, the State Bar continues to receive requests; we anticipate refunding approximately 575 applicants.

— California State Bar spokeswoman Teresa Ruano, commenting on the projected number of people who failed to attend the July 2019 administration of the California bar exam, likely due to a topics leak that occurred just days before the test. Ruano said that more than 9,000 test-takers were originally expected, but that about 600 people sought refunds this year due to the bar’s unprecedented disclosure of essay topics.

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This post was UPDATED on August 6 with new information from the State Bar.

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.