The author, studying for the bar, July 1985.

Yes, it’s that time of year again. When all of those new law graduates sweat out not just getting jobs, but more importantly, passing the bar exam.  And how do I know they’re all anxious, sweating away the days even when studying in air-conditioned comfort? Because my blog keeps getting hit by those Googling “Bar Exam Horror Stories” and similar searches.

They’re hitting this spot because, it seems, I’ve hosted some of the best ones to be found. And because they are actively looking for something to do on the web instead of studying.

And so without further ado, a slightly revised re-post from last year to help fuel the anxiety of those last vomit-inducing days, my annual round-up of miserable bar exam stories…

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I think it’s only fair, as recent law grads work and sweat and cram and get all anxious about the bar exam, to remind them of some things.

First, that’s how you’ll feel if you try a case. Or make an appellate argument.

Second, the New York bar exam has had a couple of legendary screw-ups, and I’m here to remind you during your moments of insecurity, nausea and panic about them. I’d like to think it’s part of my job, but really, I’m just having fun at your expense.

First, there was the 1985 exam, which you can see me studying for in the photo, taken 25 years ago this month. That is not a laptop  you see next to me, as they hadn’t been invented yet. Just an old fashioned, hard-covered, briefcase.

That was the exam where the multi-state test results disappeared. As in gone. Vanished. Lost, stolen or teleported to another dimension, the great disappearing act was never solved.  That was for the 500+ people  that took the test inside one of the New York Passenger Ship Terminals on the west side of Manhattan.

I know first hand about that 1985 test: Your Bar Exam Answer Sheet is Gone — Now What? About 500 people had to re-take the exam. But not me, even though I was one of the unlucky ones. Click the link and see why.

Lest you think that was the only time our trusty bar examiners fouled up, fear not, they managed to do it again in 2007 by losing some essay answers that were typed on laptops, due to a software crash.

But that 2007 story seemed to go on, and on. To fix the problem of missing answers, the bar examiners decided to do a grade approximation. Trust us, they said, to get it right this second time. Trusting them might not have been such a good idea though, as a question arose due to an anonymous comment on this blog as to how, exactly, they did that approximation. It included giving a grade of 3/10 for an essay that was never written because the guy ran out of time.

And then the story got weirder still, after I called up and found out that an unknown appeals process existed at the New York State Board of Law Examiners. Lawyers creating a secret appeals process? Just how weird is that? An anonymous test-taker blogged his experience here, in the rest of that entry that followed my call.

But wait, there’s more! The guy who took the exam, the one who was told he had failed and then anonymously blogged his experience here, then went public under his real name, Eric Zeni. He successfully appealed, after after being told there was no appeal process. He had argued his first case and won. Zeni was sworn in as an attorney early in 2008. He now practices law out on Long Island.

And then there was 2008 in Virginia,where another software glitch fouled up the essays. You can read that sad story here: Virginia Bar Exam Foul Up? (Can the Bar Examiners Be Beaten in Court?)

Is there a lesson in all this? Yes there is. The law isn’t perfect, and neither is the process of minting new lawyers. The right side usually wins in court, but not always. If you represent people in private practice you will, at some time, face down not only miserable facts, but fundamental unfairness. And sometimes, even when you do everything right, you will still lose. Or your client will. Or both.

Life is like that. You prepare like crazy, you dot your those “i”s and cross those “t”s and hope like hell that your preparation pays off. But. Just in case. Knock twice on the wooden desk and bring your rabbit’s foot.

And one last thing: If you are studying for the bar, why the hell are you out there looking for bar exam horror stories?

As I am reminded by Above the Law, the bar exam is coming up. And that means it’s time once again to run the stories of the two legendary screw-ups in New York bar exam history. I claim a proud connection to both.

Since there is no need to re-invent the wheel and re-write, I present to you, for your reading pleasure…
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New York Bar Exams (Legendary Screw-Ups) (July 16, 2008)

It’s that time of year again. Time for the bar exam. And so it is only fair I think, as recent grads work and sweat and cram and get all anxious, to remind them of some things.

First, that’s how you will probably feel when you try a case.

Second, the New York bar exam has had a couple of legendary screw-ups, and I’m here to remind you during your moments of insecurity, nausea and panic about them. I’d like to think it’s part of my job, but really, I’m just having fun at your expense.

There was the 1985 exam. The one where the multi-state exam results were lost or stolen. That was for those that took the test inside one of the New York Passenger Ship Terminals on the west side of Manhattan. I know first hand about that test: Your Bar Exam Answer Sheet is Gone — Now What? Hundreds had to re-take the exam. But not me. Click the link and see why.

Lest you think that was the only time our trusty bar examiners fouled up, fear not, they managed to do it again last year by losing some essay answers that were typed on laptops, due to a software crash.

But last year’s story seemed to go on, and on. To fix the problem of missing answers, the bar examiners decided to do a grade approximation. Trust us, they said, to get it right this second time. Trusting them might not have been such a good idea though, as a question arose due to an anonymous comment on this blog as to how, exactly, they did that approximation. It included giving a grade of 3/10 for an essay that was never written because the guy ran out of time.

And then the story got weirder still, after I called up and found out that an unknown appeals process existed at the New York State Board of Law Examiners. Lawyers creating a secret appeals process? Just how weird is that? An anonymous test-taker blogged his experience here, in the rest of that entry that followed my call.

But wait, there’s more! The guy who took the exam, the one who was told he had failed and then blogged his experience here, then went public under his real name, Eric Zeni. He successfully appealed, after after being told there was no appeal process. He had argued his first case and won. Zeni was sworn in as an attorney earlier this year. [Update: And is now practicing law out on Long Island with a small firm.]

Are there lessons to be learned from these stories? Probably. But I’ll leave my readers to figure them out.

It’s that time of year again. Time for the bar exam. And so it is only fair I think, as recent grads work and sweat and cram and get all anxious, to remind them of some things.

First, that’s how you will probably feel when you try a case.

Second, the New York bar exam has had a couple of legendary screw-ups, and I’m here to remind you during your moments of insecurity, nausea and panic about them. I’d like to think it’s part of my job, but really, I’m just having fun at your expense.

There was the 1985 exam. The one where the multi-state exam results were lost or stolen. That was for those that took the test inside one of the New York Passenger Ship Terminals on the west side of Manhattan. I know first hand about that test: Your Bar Exam Answer Sheet is Gone — Now What? Hundreds had to re-take the exam. But not me. Click the link and see why.

Lest you think that was the only time our trusty bar examiners fouled up, fear not, they managed to do it again last year by losing some essay answers that were typed on laptops, due to a software crash.

But last year’s story seemed to go on, and on. To fix the problem of missing answers, the bar examiners decided to do a grade approximation. Trust us, they said, to get it right this second time. Trusting them might not have been such a good idea though, as a question arose due to an anonymous comment on this blog as to how, exactly, they did that approximation. It included giving a grade of 3/10 for an essay that was never written because the guy ran out of time.

And then the story got weirder still, after I called up and found out that an unknown appeals process existed at the New York State Board of Law Examiners. Lawyers creating a secret appeals process? Just how weird is that? An anonymous test-taker blogged his experience here, in the rest of that entry that followed my call.

But wait, there’s more! The guy who took the exam, the one who was told he had failed and then blogged his experience here, then went public under his real name, Eric Zeni. He successfully appealed, after after being told there was no appeal process. He had argued his first case and won. Zeni was sworn in as an attorney earlier this year. [Update: And is now practicing law out on Long Island with a small firm.]

Are there lessons to be learned from these stories? Probably. But I’ll leave my readers to figure them out.

I’ve been scratching my head since learning the story of Eric Zeni, the recent law grad who was told that he failed the New York bar exam after portions of his essay answers were lost due to a software foul-up. And then, through his persistence and appeal, he learned that the law examiners “were able to go back to the software company’s computer archives and retrieve my essay,” and then gave him a passing grade.

Now this is just amazing, since his essay answer was retrieved after he was notified by the New York State Board of Law Examiners that he had failed. So I have some questions:

In a press release, the BOLE claimed that the lost essay information “could not be recovered” for 47 students. How did this information become available after the results were posted?

Why wasn’t every single rock overturned looking for lost data before the exams were graded?

How many others exam takers were told they had failed the test because their answers couldn’t be found, when we now see that all possible avenues of retrieval had not been explored?

The BOLE claimed to have done a grade approximation for 15 candidates whose answers were not recovered. Why did this methodology fail?

How many people had to retake the exam who may have actually passed the first time?

What relief can someone obtain against the Board of Law Examiners if they had legitimately passed the exam, but were forced to spend 100+ hours studying for it again?

Is anyone in Albany investigating?

My last thought, and this is about Eric Zeni. When he first posted here, under the pseudonym “Anthony,” he could have ripped the BOLE up, down and sideways for the screw-up. His actual words were a model of discretion.

Having now passed, he once again had the opportunity to rip into BOLE for having told him he failed when all efforts had obviously not been exhausted to find his answer. Once again, he was a model of discretion and charity, refusing to walk down that road.

So not only did this recent graduate win his first case, and win it in a forum for which there is no precedent and no appellate process, but he exercised superb discretion in the way he conducted himself. And that, my friends, is a great thing to see in a newly minted lawyer.