Woops. I did it again. I lost the exam answers.

It is my opinion, not to be taken as a statement of fact nor relied upon in any way, manner, or fashion by the reader, that the bar examiners are fucking idiots for screwing this up so incredibly badly.

Third!

This is lame...

Lat, can we get some coverage on Larry Craig, the flaming senator from Idaho.

I dealt with the NY Board and with SoftwareSecure over the past few days, so I can help a little bit.

All of my friends from LS had received the "all clear" email except for me, even though I'd never had any problems during the exam or uploading originally. I got two emails over the week of the 6th saying that they needed an archive file from my computer.

Time passed, and yesterday I called the NYBoBE to find out what was up. They said all was not clear, there was a problem and I had to call SoftwareSecure to fix it.

I spoke with the Director of IT at SoftwareSecure who told me that he decrypted my files and was looking at my essays at the moment--so they weren't lost. He said he would follow up with NYBoBE to figure out what was wrong.

Turns out, the first time SS sent my file to NYBoBE, Essay #1's "file" contained essay #2's answer--as did Essay #2's file. So that was the dreaded problem everyone was worried about. He told me that they unpacked the archive file (which saved every essay every 60 seconds during the exam) and found the latest version of Essay 1 before it was copied over. SS sent the new file over yesterday and he told me to keep my fingers crossed.

This AM I received a call from the NYBoBE (since I had talked to the same person 3 times yesterday trying to figure this all out) and got the all clear. I received the all-clear email later this morning.

Don't worry guys--my essay was completely copied over but they restored it from the archive file. I think we'll all (at least almost all) be okay.

Larry Craig is really more of a Wonkette story (as Lat already pointed out).

Everybody's a winner at N-Y-BO-L-E!

make that BOLE, not BOBE. i'm a moron.

this email doesn't sound good. i'd say there are three possible scenarios for candidates who received it:

1 - BOLE lost your exam and doesn't want to admit it.
1 - BOLE suspects you cheated.
2 - your answers were so incoherent that BOLE is unsure if they have a complete essay.

Where is the accountability for this? How could they possibly fuck this up so badly and people don't seem to care? Oh well we messed up the administration of the test, no big deal, here's hoping it works out better next year!

I didn't get the email confirming that they had received my 6 essays. Is everyone going to get the email or only people that reported problems on exam day?

This didn't only happen in New York. I would estimate that at least 25-30% of the students taking the KY Bar Exam lost at least one exam answer due to software problems causing the answers to just disappear or to be copied over by another exam answer. Further, I was contacted while vacationing in Canada and informed they didn't receive my essay portion despite my having received a confirmation, but reported finding a hard-copy days later (those days of vacationing were enjoyable!)

I imagine the real disaster will come in November with everyone who used a laptop and failed. Obviously those people are going to demand to see their answers as read by the examiners, and they should have the right to look at them. If the answer seems non-sensical, the failer will obviously protest...

I think we all know the answer of the balck-hearted BOLE will be "tough luck, see you in February... In Albany." Nonetheless, does anyone see potential litigation coming of this type of worst-case scenario? Damages would be easy enough to argue (at least costs for barbri and the exam).

I'm just shocked they are taking this long. The exam was over a month ago. It is only, what, about 3,000 computer users? It clearly should not have taken this long.

2:36, was the KY Bar Exam spermicidal or just extra lubricated?

But what are they going to do about the people who thought their answers had vanished, rewrote them hurriedly and badly, and therefore lost time they could have spent on other essays? How does BOLE plan to deal with this issue?

Not to rub more salt in anyone's wounds, but I hand wrote the exam because it was absolutely clear to me that the BOLE would never be able to handle 6000 computer written exams (and that's the right number given that around 12000 people took the exam and according to Barbri 50% were on computer). Sure I didn't write as much, but wow did I save myself the aggravation and added stress. Just a friendly piece of advice for people taking the exam next year.

I received the letter as well, and a letter from BOLE stating that they had received my letter complaining about the administration of the test and were busy investigating.

This letter gives me very little comfort as I cannot see what they actually received and are grading me on. I do know that if I fail the bar, I will definitely be taking it on paper in Februrary and encouraging ALL of my friends to do it on paper this summer. I have a feeling their laptop program numbers are going to plunge next year unless they can get a new vendor who is reliable.

What a mess!

Eeeek. Software Secure? We (Georgia) took our exams on the same software and I haven't heard about anyone getting emails from Software Secure. Are we next? They probably haven't gotten to our exams yet since we don't get our results until October 26th at 4:30pm. BTW, do other states have to wait until the end of October to get results?

We won't get our answers in NY until November.

By the way, 9:04am - what exactly does that comment add to this discussion? I took the NY Bar on my laptop, and fortunately I didn't have any problems, but if I fail for some reason, I'm definitely going to take it again on my laptop. These problems, while unfortunate, only occurred in a minority of laptop takers. Every year, handwritten exams get lost, too. Either way, you have a potential to be screwed. When I weigh those risks against the benefit I get from being able to put much more on paper (I type much faster than I write), organize my answers better (copy and paste functions are key, as well as spellcheck), and avoid arthritis in my hand, I'll take a laptop exam anyday.

The bottom line is that I took laptop exams for three years of law school - we were required to do so - and never once had a problem. As lawyers, we rely on computers every single day. If you're such a luddite, why don't you write your next brief with a pen and pad and try turning it into a court. When the judge asks you why he just received a handwritten document, you can tell him that you just don't trust computers and you were afraid your brief might be lost if you typed it up.

9:23 - Yes, it is common to announce results in October or November. Also, your post does nothing to dispel the general feeling that lesser legal markets are full of idiots.

NY Panic Attackers - I agree with 8:16, in so far as waiting until November to see what happens. The bottom line is there is nothing that any test taker can do about the issue now. If you pass, it will be over with and your stress will be pointless. If you fail, you can have your hissy fit and fight the examiners over the issue.

Personally, I'm interested to see the comparison of fail rates for laptop takers as compared to hand-written takers. IMHO, I think they will be similar, thus providing circumstantial evidence that laptopgate was less tragic than current perceptions indicate.

9:38: as I said above, my point was that anyone taking the exam next year might want to consider avoiding the extra stress and hassle and just handwrite. But congratulations on weighing the option and being so firm in your convictions. You have shown all the reasoning and mental dexterity as would be necessary to be an excellent lawyer.

9:23- Sure you use your laptop in law school but when most people have problems with their laptops during a law school exam they usually either start writing by hand in the middle of an exam or IT people from the school fix the problems quickly. Your law school is alot easier to get in touch with and will be much more understanding than BOLE. Also, the consequences of screwing up a single law school exam aren't nearly as great as screwing up the bar. And of course no one is going to hand write a brief, but law firms have IT people to deal with computer problems. You are comparing reasonably competent people and organizations with the people who administer the NY Bar exam. Have you been to the Javitz center for the NY bar exam? Have you seen the people who are proctors?

Even if you used a laptop for law school exams there is no reason why anyone can't handwrite the bar exam.

10:06 - do you really think that anyone taking the Bar next year needed to read your post to help them decide how they'll take it? There have been countless articles and posts on the subject. By now, people are well informed of what went on this year. Telling people that you had the incredible foresight to write the exam because you predicted the mess that would follow added absolutely nothing to the conversation.

10:30 - I wasn't saying that people can't or shouldn't handwrite the exam. Everyone should do what he or she wants. Many people prefer to handwrite, and that's absolutely fine. I was only defending laptop takers against the ridiculous remarks that have quite often popped up on these message boards that people were idiots for taking such an important exam on computer software.

This year, FL results come out on September 17.

I hand wrote my exam (July 2006) and passed the essay portion with a lot of room to spare. In law school I typed all of my exams and never had a problem, but decided that typing a few extra words wasn't worth the stress of something going wrong on bar exam day. If you hand write and fail, it probably has very little to do with how fast you can put words on paper. It is about not knowing the correct answers or writing about issues that aren't actually present in the facts.

The comparison to handwriting a brief is completely irrelevant.

That's a decision you made, and that's fine. Like I said, I don't care what people do. If you want to write the exam, God bless you. I'm more efficient on a computer, so I chose to take it on a laptop.

The comparison to handwriting a brief is completely relevant. In both cases, you would be choosing to handwrite something very important because you mistrust computers. If you're afraid to take the Bar on a laptop because you think the software might fail or your computer might crash, then that same logic would apply to handwriting anything else that you consider highly important.

Uh, are handwriters getting these confirmation emails too? Because I certainly haven't yet...

i understand that everyone works differently but for the life of me i can't grasp how it's easier to hand-write (tech problems aside) an essay than it is to type. you can't cut and paste, can't delete, can't refine sentences or thoughts, can't add additional analysis if you have time, etc.

Geez, I never said I'm unable to use a computer or am afraid to do so in everyday life. I'm not sure if you noticed but the bar exam has NOTHING to do with actual practice. In practice, you don't have to rely on the BOLE and their software to administer the process. That has nothing to do with not trusting computers. And the fact that I've heard about many people whose computers were permanently corrupted, the problems mentioned on ATL, etc. bear this out. Even if I had used my laptop and there were no problems, who needs the added stress to what was already an ungodly stressful experience?

Again, my ONLY point is for people taking the exam next year to seriously consider going the handwriting route given all the problems this year. If you still prefer to use a laptop, more power to you.

11:14: I haven't received anything either, nor have other friends who hand wrote.

boys have a penis and girls have a vagina

be careful, kindergarten cop, 9:51 is going to accuse you of being from a lesser legal market

Leo:

While I know nothing about exam grading in other states, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners does not give or take away points for sentence structure. In fact, it it not even necessary to write in full sentences. And...you can add additional analysis at the end if you have time. Your essay may end up a bit messy, but you aren't being graded for organization or neatness. For anyone reading this, please feel free to type your exam. I am merely offering one point of view. I've heard more horror stories about typers than handwriters, that is all.

11:09:

OK, your argument is relevant, but the situations are sompletely distinguishable. Aside from procecsural deadlines, the time pressure isn't the same. Your anxiety level isn't the same. The stakes for you personally aren't the same (this goes to the part where you said "anything that is highly important," as there are various degrees of "importance"). I could go on, but I will spare you.

Leo:

While I know nothing about exam grading in other states, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners does not give or take away points for sentence structure. In fact, it it not even necessary to write in full sentences. And...you can add additional analysis at the end if you have time. Your essay may end up a bit messy, but you aren't being graded for organization or neatness. For anyone reading this, please feel free to type your exam. I am merely offering one point of view. I've heard more horror stories about typers than handwriters, that is all.

11:09:

OK, your argument is relevant, but the situations are sompletely distinguishable. Aside from procecsural deadlines, the time pressure isn't the same. Your anxiety level isn't the same. The stakes for you personally aren't the same (this goes to the part where you said "anything that is highly important," as there are various degrees of "importance"). I could go on, but I will spare you.

(sighs) Where do I even begin, 1:16/1:17? Do I start at "sompletely" or "procecsural"? Choices, choices.

Thank you for sparing us.

Hmmm...perhaps I should handwrite my briefs.

Completely...

Georgia Bar Taker:

It was my understanding that only people who took the exam in Kentucky, New York, New Jersey and one other state which I think was Virginia had the new "updated" version of the secure exam software which caused problems. I may be wrong on that, but those were the only states on this version of the exam menu to choose from.

I was one of the exam takers in Kentucky who lost several answers in both the morning and afternoon session. Aside from the fact that my answers were erased, when I called over one of the computer technicians over to help with my problem, he just ripped my exam off the computer and closed out my exam, before I actually got to finish one of my other answers! I even had about twenty minutes left! So even if there was an archive of that answer, it couldn't be complete, and I was unable to go back in there and finish it, because the guy just shut the program down. I guess if I don't pass, it will just be another in the sea of appeals they're going to get this year.

Matthew, Thank you for the information. I know we had to update our software the week before the bar but I know of no one who had the problems you encountered. I am so sorry. I hope you won't be taking it again.

Shouldn't people also be concerned about those that were able to take the test on the 27th b/c of a religious holiday. I know that even if I didn't know the exact questions for the Bar exam, I'm pretty sure someone mentioning Commercial Paper being a full-on essay question would motivate me to actually open up that subject. I know its supposed to be an Honor Code, but c'mon now, that thing went out in the 3rd grade. There's always someone who will want to look.

The laptop thing sucks and I feel bad for that too. But who's to stop anyone from changing their answers?

So basically, we're up against people who knew the answers to the essays (the people who took it the 27th) and those who can possibly change their uploaded answers now. It's not only the people who took the laptop option who are screwed here.