Friends, law stories don’t get much better than this. It started with the New York bar examiners losing my test results in the summer of 1985. And it ends 22 years later in the wake of another New York bar exam fiasco, this time with lost essay answers on laptops due to a software glitch. This graduate, who was told that he failed the July 2007 exam, will not be taking the February bar exam being given today. This is his story…

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Guest Blog by Eric Zeni
(awaiting admission)

My experience with the bar exam was previously featured on this blog; in a guest posting, I recounted how I was affected by the software malfunction that caused my laptop to crash while writing the exam and seemingly erased one of my essays. When results came out in November, I learned I failed the exam by four points. I later received copies of my essay responses back and discovered that one of my essays was still incomplete — an essay which I had begun typing and was forced to finish by hand when my laptop crashed. I later learned from the Board of Law Examiner’s office that there was some type of a review being conducted, and it was then that I began to seek more information. I contacted Eric Turkewitz because I had seen the coverage he had given to the software malfunction and grade approximation on this blog, and I asked if he had heard about a review. Although seemingly no one had heard of this development, Mr. Turkewitz was helpful and called the BOLE office himself and confirmed the existence of the review, which encouraged me further.

I wrote my request unsure of how it would be received or what I could ultimately expect. The only information BOLE had told me was that the Executive Director would be conducting the reviews. I was well aware that BOLE does not take appeals and that this was uncharted territory. In my request, I explained what occurred on the day of the exam, and I attached copies of emails that I had received from the software company which confirmed that my exam had been uploaded and also from BOLE stating that they were in receipt of all my printed and handwritten essay responses. Despite those assurances, I explained, I discovered that my essay was still missing. I stated how devastating it was to learn I failed the exam, but what an injustice it was to discover that the graders had not graded my complete response. Finally, not knowing what to expect, I respectfully requested that my exam be ‘reviewed.’

I waited about two or three weeks without hearing anything. Each time I called the BOLE office, I was told the Executive Director was reviewing the requests and that he would be in touch. Finally, around year end, I asked to speak with the Executive Director, who returned my call later in the day. When I spoke with the Board’s Executive Director, John McAlary, he asked if I had any questions before he explained the situation. I told him that while I obviously wanted a favorable outcome, what I desired most was finality and some resolution as the February exam was fast approaching and I needed to know how to proceed.

Mr. McAlary explained that after receiving my request and looking into the issue of the missing portion of my essay, they were able to go back to the software company’s computer archives and retrieve my essay. My retrieved essay was then submitted to a grader, who determined that I passed. At that point, the Board had to determine whether or not it would change my result. Finally, Mr. McAlary said that he was happy to be the bearer of good news, and that the Board had decided to change my result and that I had passed the bar exam!

I was amazed. Certainly this was the outcome I had hoped and prayed for, but I never figured it would be possible. Speechless, I thanked Mr. McAlary, who congratulated me, and we ended our conversation. I then told everyone what had happened, and it seemed that everyone else was even more excited than I was. When I shared the news with Mr. Turkewitz, he was very happy and congratulated me for having won my first case, and for having successfully achieved a reversal when BOLE was adamant there was no appeal. It took awhile for it to sink in that I had passed and would never have to study for the exam again. Once I fully realized, I was extremely happy that my ordeal was over and felt vindicated by the good news. I worked too hard this summer to have failed, and to have missed the mark by only four points was heartbreaking. Although I never expected it to be reversed, I was always determined that come what may, I was not going to take that exam again. I finally received my official notice on December 31, 2007, stating I had passed the bar exam and certifying me for admission to the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department. It was a great feeling to finally have that piece of paper in my hands and I finally felt the joy and relief that I am sure everyone else who passed the exam had felt weeks before.

I truly empathize with those taking the bar exam this week. I’ve often thought of all the time I would have spent in the law library studying again day and night, and especially since I’d be taking the exam again now. Getting that bad news is devastating, and it takes a lot of strength and tenacity to bounce back from it. In the time since everything has been resolved, I have been eagerly looking for a job. I am looking forward to being admitted and am anxious and excited to begin my career as an attorney.

It took me a long time to decide whether I even wanted to write the conclusion to my story. It’s been weeks since Mr. Turkewitz first asked me to do a follow up to my original posting. I’ve recently had occasion to share this story, and each time I do, everyone seems to enjoy it and people remark what an extraordinary story it is. Although my life would have been much less complicated had I originally received good news in November, I am clearly pleased with the outcome. I am thankful that I passed and that the Board rectified the situation. I owe thanks to Mr. Turkewitz for his advice and assistance, to John and Damian Pieper for their thorough preparation and support, to my friends for their support as we studied for the bar this summer and as this continued to unfold, and especially to my family and girlfriend for their love and support. And most importantly, I thank God that I do not have to take the bar exam again!

–Eric Zeni
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[The idea to write my own story from 1985 came from Above the Law at this post. Had it not been for that request for anecdotes, I probably would not have written the story up and become involved in the issue, and Zeni and I would never have spoken. — E.T.]

Update, 2/27/08: Bar Exam Reversal: How Did New York Bar Examiners Screw This Up?

The New York State Board of Law Examiners has confirmed to me that they will hear appeals regarding the July 2007 exam. That exam was plagued by malfunctioning software for those that submitted essays on laptop computers, only to see all or part of the answers disappear. (See: New York Bar Examiners Still Can’t Find Complete Essay Answers.) The BOLE subsequently said that they approximated the answers if they were incomplete, based on how the examinees did on other answers. (See: NYS Bar Examiners Do Grade Approximation For Missing Exam Answers). Those grade approximations were subsequently called into question based on an anonymous tip in this blog. (See: How, Exactly, did New York Grade That Bar Exam?)

The appeals, which must be submitted in writing, will be heard by the Executive Director, John McAlary.

My call to the BOLE was prompted by prior comments and personal contacts, which ultimately resulted in the guest blog that now follows. This appeals process, to my knowledge, has not been previously documented.

Bar examiners with a secret appeals process. Who’d a thunk it?
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By “Anthony”

I sat for the July 2007 bar exam in the laptop program. Prior to the exam I downloaded the software and completed a practice test with no problems. The morning of the exam, the software crashed as I was writing essay one. A technician restarted my laptop and I completed essay one. I moved on to essay two and about halfway through, the software crashed again. I called a technician to restart the computer, and fed up with the situation, decided to finish the exam in the answer booklet. I started handwriting the exam, finished my response to essay two in the answer booklet, and moved on. Towards the end of the morning session, I found myself with a little time. The technician had restarted my computer while I was still handwriting my answers, so I decided I could review what I had written on the computer or at least make sure everything was there. When I attempted to look at what I had written on the computer, I discovered that the program had duplicated what I had written for essay two, and overwritten it and replaced my response to essay one. As if it wasn’t bad enough having the software crash on me while I was trying to write the exam, now I discovered that a whole essay had apparently been erased by the software. I called this to the attention of the technicians, who physically took my laptop to another part of the room and worked on it for the rest of the day. The whole incident was frustrating and frightening and made it difficult to concentrate and complete the exam. When I think back, I am actually proud that I went back that afternoon and finished the exam. I finished the rest of the bar exam and was told by the technicians and the head proctor that there was some type of backup system with the software and that they would be able to retrieve my exam. Obviously, I had no faith in the software company and spent the next few months worrying whether my essay had been lost.

Toward the end of August, I received an email from the software company requesting I upload additional files. I did that and received a confirmation from them. About a week later I received an email from BOLE stating they were in receipt of my printed and/or handwritten responses to all the essays. Still fearful that my essay had been lost, I emailed the software company to double check. I explained that while BOLE claimed to have my essays, I wanted to be sure they had the correct response and what I had actually written. The software company replied and said that they were able to retrieve what I had typed before it was overwritten. I was relieved to hear this and now merely spent the next few months like everyone else, worrying whether I passed or not.

The day the results came out in November, I checked the BOLE website and learned I was unsuccessful on the exam. A few days later I received my official notification in the mail, and learned that I had failed the exam by only a few points. It was then that I began to suspect something, so I ordered copies of my essay responses along with the questions and sample answers. I received these around the beginning of December, and as I looked through my responses I discovered that while the software company had retrieved the answer I had typed for essay one, it was an incomplete version. During the exam, after the technician had restarted the program, I completed my response to essay one. The answer BOLE sent back to me clearly trails off mid sentence in the analysis portion of my response and is clearly incomplete. Further, I had begun typing my response to essay two on the computer, and when I looked through my responses from BOLE, only the handwritten second half of the response was present. The handwritten portion of this response contains only a few sentences of my conclusion and is missing my recitation of the relevant law, and all my legal reasoning and analysis.

I began calling BOLE to see where the rest of my responses were. After about two weeks, they finally told me that whatever they had sent to me was all they had. The secretary I spoke with asked whether I had written to request a ‘review.’ I asked her why I would have done that when the Board’s stated and official policy is not to entertain appeals of the exam results. I was only told that I should put a request in writing. Later, as I attempted to draft the letter, I called the BOLE office back to get some instruction on exactly what I should request. I spoke with the same secretary and said that I wasn’t sure what I should say and what I should expect or request from the Board. I again asked what exactly this review was and what was to be expected since the Board states there is no appeals process. Finally, the secretary told me that BOLE has been receiving a lot of correspondence from candidate’s attorneys requesting a review, and that the Executive Director of the Board was accepting these requests. I asked her what I could expect out of all this and she said that all she knew was that they would investigate and “try to come up with something.”

I drafted a letter to the Executive Director outlining what occurred during the exam, detailing the missing and incomplete responses I received back, and requesting that my exam be ‘reviewed’ as well. I do not know what to expect from this review, and I do not know what the board will be able to come up with. The bar exam and all the laptop problems was frustrating enough, but to have been told that they had my complete responses and then to discover that what was graded was incomplete and missing feels like a tremendous injustice. I am still waiting to hear back from the Board and I hope that they make some kind of decision regarding this issue soon.
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Update: 2/27/08 — My pseudonymous guest blogger follows up on the results of his attempt to appeal the decision to fail him:I Passed The New York Bar Exam!!!!

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