It always sucks to be cold-called first thing in the morning.
But if you’re an official charged with guaranteeing the safety of thousands of bar applicants and you’re asked to participate in a conference call regarding the dangerous administration of the exam during a global pandemic, you’ve got to bring your A game. And, of course, most of your agenda will involve dumb distractions, but at least make a show of it for the public.
What you definitely shouldn’t be doing is falling asleep on the job. Yet we’ve had officials appear to fall asleep not once but twice this week while hearing from applicants and concerned professionals about the administration of the bar exam. TWICE!
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First Barbara Ellis of the Texas Board of Bar Examiners apparently fell asleep during a call giving us this gem of a metaphor for bar examiner responsiveness:
https://twitter.com/ava_tag/status/1278748145548169216?s=20
This was bad enough before the whole process repeated itself again in California when Mark Broughton of the State Bar Board of Trustees was caught on camera apparently dozing off:
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Maybe neither of these officials were really asleep — long Zoom calls are boring and closing your eyes doesn’t necessarily mean you aren’t listening — but giving the appearance of disinterest isn’t much better. Part of having a job with these responsibilities is appearing attentive to instill confidence in the process when people are telling you about how they don’t want to die to uphold an antiquated hazing ritual.
But law professors don’t spare the hammer when students look like they’re asleep in class, so why should bar examiners be held to a lower standard? Cold call ’em.
That should straighten them away quick.
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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.