Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
There were absolutely no test-takers at the July 2026 Washington bar exam that were not impacted. Emergency diploma privilege is the only remedy for all impacted.
Some test-takers have voluntarily shared their firsthand accounts that there were technical problems for those with accommodations, as well. The stress of having to take the exam, knowing that the technology failed for the vast majority of their colleagues, hung over their heads. They worried that the technology would fail them too.
— Tamara Lawson, dean of the University of Washington School of Law, in comments given to the ABA Journal, concerning the state’s cancellation of the July administration of the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam due to widespread technical problems. In a statement released on August 1, the Washington State Bar Association noted that test-takers with approved accommodations “were able to proceed with their exams as scheduled and were not impacted” by those problems. The deans of all three Washington law schools have asked the Washington Supreme Court to grant hundreds of would-be exam takers diploma privilege in light of the chaotic test rollout. Lawson says those with accommodations who completed the exam should be granted diploma privilege as well.
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of 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 Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.