Law Schools

Bar Exam Canceled After Questions Leak Out

Didn't see that one coming.

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examAfter all the bar exam drama over the last few years, everything seemed to be heading back to normal. Advisable or not, in-person bar exams were back and while overzealous examiners were tossing applicants here and there, it still felt like we were on the back end of epic bar exam breakdowns.

But, apparently not.

Bar applicants in Ontario have learned that Tuesday’s exam is off after the examiners revealed over the weekend that the questions have leaked. From Law.com International:

The 11th-hour cancellation of the licensing exam has left students with more questions than answers, with already stressed-out candidates “feeling drained,” said Ocean Enbar, president of the Law Students Society of Ontario and a 3L at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.

“Students are just feeling overwhelmed by the situation,” he told Law.com International, adding they are all primarily “concerned about what is next, what do the timelines look like?”

The Law Society said the exams will be rescheduled “as soon as possible” but wouldn’t provide a more detailed timeline.

The Law Society memo indicated “potential involvement of third parties” though the Mountie on the case suggested an internal leak seemed more likely that a concerted hacking effort.

At this point, we’re obliged to repeat our steady message that the bar exam should just be open book anyway because assessing minimum competence is a lot easier when you can evaluate what applicants produce when all working from the same starting point. The practice of law is, again, an open book exam. But until examiners junk archaic bar traditions, the threat of leaks will remain.

[UPDATE: A tipster just informed me that the Ontario Bar Exam *is* open book. Which is first of all one more bit of proof that the Canadians are better at everything and second really makes you wonder why they care that the questions got out.]

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In the meantime, we feel awful for the applicants who’ve spent weeks and months preparing for this test who now have to hold onto all that knowledge for the indefinite future.

Ontario Bar Exam Canceled Last Minute Due to Leak of Questions [Law.com International]

HeadshotJoe 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.

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