Latest news with #StateBarofCalifornia
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Letters to the Editor: After Tom Girardi scandal, it's clear the State Bar of California needs reform
To the editor: I read about Tom Girardi with astonishment ('Tom Girardi — disgraced legal titan, former 'Real Housewives' husband — sentenced to 7 years in prison,' June 3). There were over 200 complaints to the State Bar of California. Yet the bar was MIA, with 'wine-soaked lunches' while money was stolen from clients right under their noses. In contrast, lawyers in the U.K. must have full outside audits of their books. Client money is audited to the last penny. And the auditors themselves are audited, by examiners from the bar's equivalent. Hence, corruption is rare. The bar here has roused itself to make some minor reforms. Good luck. Attorneys are not saints, free from temptation. More policing is needed. I suggest outside audits of attorneys' books by certified public accountants retained by the bar, to obviate conflicts of interest. As for the bar's dereliction of duty, heads must roll. Raymond Freeman, Thousand Oaks This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: After Tom Girardi scandal, it's clear the State Bar of California needs reform
To the editor: I read about Tom Girardi with astonishment ('Tom Girardi — disgraced legal titan, former 'Real Housewives' husband — sentenced to 7 years in prison,' June 3). There were over 200 complaints to the State Bar of California. Yet the bar was MIA, with 'wine-soaked lunches' while money was stolen from clients right under their noses. In contrast, lawyers in the U.K. must have full outside audits of their books. Client money is audited to the last penny. And the auditors themselves are audited, by examiners from the bar's equivalent. Hence, corruption is rare. The bar here has roused itself to make some minor reforms. Good luck. Attorneys are not saints, free from temptation. More policing is needed. I suggest outside audits of attorneys' books by certified public accountants retained by the bar, to obviate conflicts of interest. As for the bar's dereliction of duty, heads must roll. Raymond Freeman, Thousand Oaks
Axios
29-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
California bar exam's AI scandal sets stage for high-stakes retake
Two months out from the July bar exam, the State Bar of California is still dealing with fallout from its most recent test and the agency's admission of using AI to formulate some questions. Why it matters: The fiasco has heightened concern about the State Bar's ability to properly prepare and license attorneys amid increased demand for legal representation in California. Nearly three-quarters of households in California reported experiencing at least one civil legal problem in the previous 12 months, according to the State Bar's 2024 Justice Gap Study. State of play: February marked the rollout of a new hybrid exam, but it quickly descended into chaos when applicants reported online testing platform crashes, a bevy of error messages and continuous screen lags. Driving the news: The State Bar formally asked the California Supreme Court this week to approve a limited provisional licensure program and a more direct pathway to admission for out-of-state attorneys. Approval would allow the roughly 1,300 candidates who failed or withdrew from the February exam to practice under the supervision of a licensed lawyer until they pass a bar exam. The move comes as the agency faces nearly $6 million in additional costs to return to the in-person format for July. Catch up quick: The State Bar finalized an $8.25 million deal with test prep company Kaplan Exam Services last August to replace the traditional national bar exam with its own version — one that includes a remote format. The deal, which authorized Kaplan to produce the state's exam for the next five years, was estimated to help the agency save up to $3.8 million per year. Its disastrous debut, however, has further dragged the agency into a financial crisis. Friction point: Shortly after test takers reported widespread technical difficulties with the February exam, the State Bar revealed that over 20 multiple-choice questions had been drafted using AI. Executive director Leah T. Wilson also acknowledged that the agency did not copy edit test questions and that she learned some questions had typos only when she "saw it on Reddit," the Los Angeles Times reported. The state Supreme Court lowered the passing score for the exam as a result and ordered the State Bar to return to the traditional in-person test format. California's Senate Judiciary Committee also gave the state auditor its approval for an independent review of the exam. What they're saying: At a committee hearing earlier this month, test taker Andrea Lynch testified about her experience with constant disruptions from proctors and computer crashes. Lynch said a message notified her that her exam had been submitted before she'd even seen the final section. The ordeal amounted to "a systemic failure, a breakdown in the integrity, accessibility and fairness of one of the most important professional milestones in the legal profession," Lynch added. What we're watching: The State Bar hit Measure Learning, the company that proctored the February exam, with a fraud lawsuit in early May. The suit accuses the vendor of failing to "deliver on its promises" and misrepresenting its ability to conduct a large-scale assessment both in person and online. A survey of February test takers found that 95% reported experiencing at least one technology issue, while over 90% reported at least one issue with proctors, per the State Bar's complaint. Nearly 80% said they had issues with typing delays, 75% said the copy-and-paste functionality did not work and 43% said the testing platform froze and became unresponsive.
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
Kim Kardashian graduates from law study program after 6 years
Kim Kardashian has graduated from her law program after six years of studying and working under California's Law Office Study program. The reality TV star, mom of four and entrepreneur shared video clips and photos on her Instagram story Wednesday from a backyard graduation ceremony, which was attended by family members and friends. Attorney Jessica Jackson, one of Kardashian's mentors in her law office study program, spoke during the ceremony, praising Kardashian's dedication to her studies. "Six years ago, Kim Kardashian walked into this program with nothing but a fierce desire to fight for justice -- no law school lectures, no ivory tower shortcuts, just determination and a mountain of case law books to read," she said. "Over the course of this program, Kim has dedicated 18 hours a week, 48 weeks a year for six straight years. That's a total of 5,184 hours of legal study." Instead of attending formal law school, Kardashian announced back in April 2019 that she had enrolled with the State Bar of California in 2018 to study law while completing a four-year apprenticeship, which would be completed with the supervision of a licensed California attorney. Only a small number of states, including California, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, offer an alternative pathway to legal training without a law school requirement. Kardashian passed California's First-Year Law Students' Exam or the "baby bar" examination in 2021 after her fourth attempt. Kardashian is now eligible to sit for the bar exam and follow in her late father Robert Kardashian's footsteps to become a lawyer. In addition to reading law and working, Kardashian has also advocated for prison reform and non-violent offenders, including Alice Marie Johnson, whose life sentence for drug trafficking was commuted. Johnson, a great-grandmother, served over 20 years in jail and was released in June 2018.
Reuters
06-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
California Bar says it has sued vendor over exam meltdown
May 5 (Reuters) - The State Bar of California said on Monday it has sued exam vendor Meazure Learning following the disastrous rollout of its February bar exam, accusing the vendor of failing to live up to its promises that its systems could handle thousands of bar examinees. The state bar, represented by partners from Hueston Hennigan, said it is seeking an unspecified amount of damages from Meazure. The state bar signed a $4.1 million contract with the company in September 2024 to administer the exam. A spokesperson for Meazure did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not independently verify a lawsuit was filed. California's February exam was a hybrid, two-day remote and in-person test that did not use any components of the national bar exam, which the state has used for decades. Some test takers were unable to log into the bar exam at all, while many experienced delays, lax exam security, distracting proctors, and a copy-and-paste function that didn't work. The state bar alleged that Meazure disabled its own spell-check feature because it froze the platform. "Test takers reported that copy and paste, highlighting, and annotation functions did not work. Even basic typing exhibited significant lags," according to the lawsuit the state bar said it filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. State Bar Executive Director Leah Wilson on Friday said she was stepping down from that post in July, citing the botched rollout of the new bar exam. Meazure is already facing two proposed federal class actions from two people who took the February test. Both lawsuits are pending in Oakland, California, federal court. Meazure has not answered the allegations in those lawsuits. California was the first state to break away from the national bar exam developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, as part of an effort to cut costs. The California Supreme Court on Monday ordered the state bar to use the Multistate Bar Exam for the upcoming July test. Meazure, based in Birmingham, Alabama, bills itself as the "largest and most experienced remote proctoring operation in the market" with more than 1,500 test centers in 115 countries. Meazure was formed through the 2020 merger of testing companies ProctorU and Yardstick.
