National Conference of Bar Examiners

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.18.17

* "It’s a terrible signal for this group to be holding their meeting at the Trump International Hotel and for a Supreme Court justice to legitimate it by attending. It just violates basic ethical principles about conflicts of interest." Justice Neil Gorsuch is under fire for speaking at an upcoming event at the Trump International Hotel just two weeks before SCOTUS will hear arguments in the travel ban case. [New York Times] * After 23 years, National Conference of Bar Examiners president Erica Moeser will be retiring from her job on August 21 and handing over the reins to Judith Gundersen, the NCBE's director of test operations. If you recall, Moeser once infamously -- and most likely, correctly -- said that plummeting bar pass rates were due to "less able" test takers. Enjoy your retirement! [Law.com] * With funding of almost $6 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies, NYU Law is launching the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center, in an effort to assist state attorneys general who "don’t begin to have the resources to meet these challenges" fight any of the Trump administration's attempts to dismantle environmental protections and climate policies. [Washington Post] * Jacqueline B. Jones, the lawyer who called in a bomb threat to the federal courthouse on the day she was supposed to defend herself against being sanctioned, is set to plead guilty today to third-degree falsely reporting an incident. She faces jail time and up to $15,000 in fines. [Syracuse.com] * "The story's true. I'm not doing anything. I barely show up to work and I've been caught." The spokesman for New York's Office of Court Administration accidentally left a message for a reporter who was working on a story about his truancy on the job, laughing about how he "barely" showed up to work, just after lying and saying the reports were false. Oopsie! [New York Law Journal] * "In an era of alternative news and fake facts, the ABA should be the definitive source of real facts when it comes to the law." Check out the ABA's new online resource, the legal fact checker, a website where members of the public can learn about what the law says regarding current events in the news. [ABA Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Bar Exams

Morning Docket: 11.11.14

* While she may have “one of the broadest and most expansive roles” in West Wing history, thanks to this article, Valerie Jarrett can add a new title to her résumé: “Obama Whisperer.” [New Republic] * Alumni from failed firms — or “dead firm alums,” which makes them sound like ghosts — have been having reunions to remember the good times at their former Biglaw homes. Aww, cute. [Am Law Daily] * Everyone’s freaking out about the decline in bar exam scores, even deans. Brooklyn Law’s dean got into it with the NCBE’s head over her “offensive” comments about July ’14 takers. [WSJ Law Blog] * Speaking of the bar exam, here’s a comparison between the amount students pay in law school tuition and the likelihood of passing the test on the first try. Spoiler: it doesn’t really matter. [Huffington Post] * Here’s how to determine how badly you screwed up the LSAT. Step 1) Realize you took the test because you don’t know what else to do with your life. No more steps. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

By Staci Zaretsky