The State Bar of California decided to take legal action against the vendor responsible for administering its February bar exam. This exam rollout was a total disaster, leading to a loss of trust in the organization’s leadership and prompting calls from lawmakers for an audit. The state Supreme Court even had to step in and order the agency to go back to the traditional exam format in July. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses Meazure Learning of committing fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of contract by falsely claiming they could handle both remote and in-person exams over a two-day period.
For many aspiring attorneys, the February exam was a nightmare. Test takers hoping to practice law in California faced numerous technical issues and irregularities. Online platforms crashed, screen lags occurred, essays couldn’t be saved, and copying and pasting text was impossible. Meazure Learning, however, denied responsibility for the chaos. In a statement responding to the lawsuit, they defended their track record of administering millions of exams annually and supporting thousands of organizations for over 20 years. They accused the State Bar of trying to shift blame for their own failures.
According to the lawsuit, Meazure assured the State Bar that they had the experience and capacity to handle the exam’s requirements. They claimed to have administered 25,000 exams over two days without issues and boasted about their security and accessibility. Despite these assurances, the exam in February was a complete disaster, leaving many applicants frustrated and angry. The State Bar is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the unacceptable experience and is also requesting an independent audit of Meazure Learning.
Prior to the February exam, the State Bar had promoted it as a cost-saving measure that would offer remote testing options. They had signed a multi-million dollar deal with Meazure Learning to administer the new exam and had also partnered with Kaplan Exam Services for test prep materials. Despite concerns raised by the deans of top law schools in California, the State Bar went ahead with the new exam format. The technical issues that arose during practice exams were not fully addressed before the actual exam in February.
The news of the lawsuit came shortly after the State Bar released the exam results, showing a pass rate of 55.9%, the highest in decades. The California Supreme Court allowed the State Bar to adjust scoring for the February exam due to the problems faced by test takers. The State Bar’s IT staff worked overtime to correct scores and inform applicants of their results. The court also ordered a return to the traditional exam format for the July bar exam.
Leah T. Wilson, the executive director of the State Bar, announced her plans to step down in July and congratulated the test takers for their perseverance. Those who did not pass the exam will receive their results soon and have the option to retake the exam in July. Some test takers have called for equitable remediation, such as provisional licensing or granting full law licenses without additional exams, to address the challenges faced during the February exam.
Overall, the lawsuit against Meazure Learning sheds light on the failures of the February bar exam and the impact it had on aspiring attorneys in California. The State Bar is taking steps to hold the vendor accountable and ensure a smoother exam experience in the future.
