One
of
the
worst
things
about
how
bad
the
February
2025
California
Bar
exam
went
was
that
nobody
was
even
surprised
about
how
bad
it
turned
out.
From
the
poor
budgeting
that
birthed
the
rationale
for
this
fiasco
to
the
rushed
timeline
and
AI
questions
being
passed
off
as
rigorous
testing
technology,
the
exam
was
a
veritable
comedy
of
errors.
And
when
something
this
tragicomic
happens,
what
is
left
but
to
learn
from
your
mistakes?
Former
director
of
the
state
bar
Leah
Wilson
shared
her
retrospective
on
the
exam
with
Reuters:
The
State
Bar
of
California
pursued
too
many
changes
at
once,
setting
the
stage
for
the
problem-plagued
February
attorney
licensing
exam,
the
agency’s
former
executive
director
said.Many
of
the
February
exam’s
problems
stemmed
from
the
decision
to
change
both
the
content
and
delivery
system
of
the
bar
exam
simultaneously,
Leah
Wilson
told
Reuters
on
Wednesday
in
an
interview
two
days
after
stepping
down
as
the
state
bar’s
executive
director.
While
late
is
better
than
never,
executives
put
in
position
to
sift
through
who
is
and
isn’t
minimally
competent
enough
to
be
a
lawyer
really
should
be
better
at
issue
spotting.
I
will
be
the
first
to
acknowledge
hindsight
is
20/20
—
I
lived
through
the
SWAG
era
of
fashion.
But
I
will
also
say
that
we
are
responsible
for
our
own
discernment.
Did
wearing
checkered
skinny
jeans,
a
BAPE
skully,
and
shutter
shades
seem
like
a
good
idea
at
the
time?
Maybe,
but
I
had
enough
foresight
to
not
base
my
entire
business
model
on
a
spur
of
the
moment
assessment
of
what
was
in
vogue!
I
also
didn’t
have
a
business
at
the
time
to
risk
or
enough
money
to
be
that
swagged
out,
but
that’s
neither
here
nor
there.
There
was
a
bunch
of
critique
toward
the
Cali
Bar’s
decision
to
break
from
NCBE
happening
in
real
time.
Yes,
they
could
tell
by
the
ledger
that
things
were
unsustainable
as
they
were.
And
it
isn’t
like
their
prior
exam
delivery
system
was
without
fault.
But
there
were
other
options
at
the
time,
like
“let[ting]
a
well-established
business
of
bar
exam
experts
write
a
test
that
could
be
used
online,
or
limit
the
deal
to
Kaplan-provided
locations,
or
create
a
slightly
elongated
timeline”
just
to
get
the
ball
rolling.
But
hubris
wouldn’t
be
hubris
without
eschewing
safety
measures.
After
one
of
the
worst
roll
outs
possible,
California’s
Supreme
Court
ordered
the
Bar
to
use
NCBE’s
test
for
the
July
bar.
And
while
this
simplifies
things
for
the
July
test-takers,
it
only
kicks
the
can
down
the
road
for
dealing
with
the
Bar’s
budget
burden.
Hopefully
the
hindsight
lesson
of
don’t
change
everything
at
once
will
help
them
dig
out
of
the
hole.
Too
Many
Changes
At
Once
Led
To
California
Bar
Exam
Mess,
Ex-Director
Says
[Reuters]
Earlier:
California
Bar
Risks
Going
Bankrupt
Rather
Than
Change
Its
Exam
California’s
Bar
Exam
Fiasco
Enters
Next
Stage
Of
Stupid
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.