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Bar Exam IP Glitch

tsywake

tsywake

Sheikh of Smoke
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Wow. Even just taking the Bar turns you into a terrible person.
 
It's actually a little more complicated than that. Each applicant sitting for the bar exam had to pay $100-$125 to purchase the software for uploading their essay answers securely.

You usually get out between 4-6 and then have until a certain time to upload the answers. If they're not uploaded by a certain time they don't count which means you fail.

On the day of the exam, the servers were overloaded and people couldn't upload the answers.

For me the cost of taking the bar exam in 2012 was close to $5K when counting review course, fees, travel expenses, etc. So to fail because the software you purchased didn't work would have been awful. And the stress of not knowing if they had been uploaded wouldn't be nothing.

That being said, I think the law suit is stupid for asking for anything modes than a refund.
 
It was a fairly big fuck up. It pissed me off during the bar exam. But, I think this lawsuit is nonsense and a waste of time. What needs to happen is the various boards of law examiners should evaluate whether to continue to use examsoft or a different program.

I'm really excited for the lawsuits that I am sure we will see after results come out. No way someone just failed the exam, this year it was all because of examsoft.

People just need to calm down.
 
Should have handwritten the exam. NC Bar exam has this language on the application to use a laptop during the exam:

I understand that if I encounter hardware or software failure or other technical difficulties while taking the bar
exam, no additional time will be given. If the technical difficulties cannot be resolved or are not resolved, I will
continue the essay examination by handwriting. I understand that in such cases, the Board will use reasonable efforts
to recover what had been written on the laptop, but will not give credit or make accommodations for any portion of
the answer(s) that cannot be recovered, regardless of the reason for the technical difficulty.
I accept the conditions the Board has specified for the use of laptop computers. I will hold harmless the
Board of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina, its employees, agents, and contract assistants (including
the Bar Exam proctors and all technical assistants) for any and all computer and software malfunctions or other
technical difficulties, regardless of the reason, relating to my use or attempted use of a laptop computer in
connection with the North Carolina Bar Exam and will indemnify these entities against any and all costs,
damages, and fees resulting from any claim filed by me against third parties.
 
Do you take the bar on your own (e.g. at home) or can you take it at a place like Prometrics where you sign in, have to use their computers, etc? It seems that if that's the case or at least an option, why the need to acquire new software?
 
Someone who sat freaking out in front of their laptop until the midnight deadline and then bombed the multi state at 8 am might have a beef. A rational person would realize it was a national problem, get a nice dinner, go to sleep and let the bar worry about it in the AM.
 
In Florida everybody takes it in Tampa at the convention center. Two people to a table. 3500 people.

In New York, it was spread out across the state in hotels and convention centers.

My laptop crashed two weeks before the bar exam and a week after the warranty ran out, so I hand wrote the exam in a room of laptop takers. I've never noticed the click of computer keys until that day.
 
94Deac said:
Do you take the bar on your own (e.g. at home) or can you take it at a place like Prometrics where you sign in, have to use their computers, etc? It seems that if that's the case or at least an option, why the need to acquire new software?
Click to expand...

DeaconCav06 said:
In Florida everybody takes it in Tampa at the convention center. Two people to a table. 3500 people.

In New York, it was spread out across the state in hotels and convention centers.

My laptop crashed two weeks before the bar exam and a week after the warranty ran out, so I hand wrote the exam in a room of laptop takers. I've never noticed the click of computer keys until that day.
Click to expand...

Mrs tsy took the NC at the fairgrounds in Raleigh a few weeks ago. They originally planned to do it in Dorton Arena, but had to create an additional site since they exceeded capacity.

She chose the handwritten version, because she was concerned about her laptop crashing and she didnt want to have to pay them any more money than she absolutely had do. #lifeofthepoors
 
tsywake said:
Mrs tsy took the NC at the fairgrounds in Raleigh a few weeks ago. They originally planned to do it in Dorton Arena, but had to create an additional site since they exceeded capacity.

She chose the handwritten version, because she was concerned about her laptop crashing and she didnt want to have to pay them any more money than she absolutely had do. #lifeofthepoors
Click to expand...

In 2012 they lost power at the fairgrounds.
 
wfudkn said:
So you can take the bar exam on computers now?
Click to expand...

When I registered, I didn't fill out the laptop form, mostly because (I think) I missed the deadline, but also because I didn't want to run into technology issues. I got an email a few weeks later saying the deadline would be extended and they really want all applicants to use a computer. I eventually filled it out and took it with a laptop, but had the same issues with uploading answers that freaked me out for hours. I even had an examsoft rep on the phone who explained the alternate way to upload answers when their method wasn't working properly.

Like Cav said, it's extremely frustrating to be in limbo for hours because they basically force you to use software that doesn't work properly, all while telling you any answers not received by the deadline would be failed. At the same time, I would never sue over it, but that's just me.

Also, I'm SUPER pumped to take the MPRE tomorrow. Maryland doesn't require it, but I'm waiving into DC so I need to take it. I pretty much forgot about it until I saw it on my calendar earlier this week, so I really am winging it.
 
I took it the first year it was allowed on the computer. They must have mailed us at least 10 different letters saying in big capital bold letters, that if you planned on taking it on the computer, to make sure your laptop had a disk drive, and not just a CD drive, because you had to save your work to a disk to hand in, and not upload it onto a network or burn it onto a CD. Of course, half of the dumb fucks show up with just CD drives and freak the fuck out like they haven't been told this repeatedly. They were allegedly busting their ass for weeks or months beforehand to prepare for the test but didn't bother to read the directions. Not a sign of a good lawyer. Anyway, I don't think we got started until about noon so were stuck there several additional hours.
 
wake20 said:
Also, I'm SUPER pumped to take the MPRE tomorrow. Maryland doesn't require it, but I'm waiving into DC so I need to take it. I pretty much forgot about it until I saw it on my calendar earlier this week, so I really am winging it.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure I took the MPRE at some point during my 3rd year. I remember it being kind of a joke. But I'm also MD/DC, which is awesome because NO CLE BITCHES!
 
DeaconCav06 said:
It's actually a little more complicated than that. Each applicant sitting for the bar exam had to pay $100-$125 to purchase the software for uploading their essay answers securely.

You usually get out between 4-6 and then have until a certain time to upload the answers. If they're not uploaded by a certain time they don't count which means you fail.

On the day of the exam, the servers were overloaded and people couldn't upload the answers.

For me the cost of taking the bar exam in 2012 was close to $5K when counting review course, fees, travel expenses, etc. So to fail because the software you purchased didn't work would have been awful. And the stress of not knowing if they had been uploaded wouldn't be nothing.

That being said, I think the law suit is stupid for asking for anything modes than a refund.
Click to expand...

Out of principal I refused to give the state bar examiners any more money for anything and uneventfully elected to handwrite my exam last week. Darn... I could've had a piece of this BS lawsuit pie.
 
wfudkn said:
I'm pretty sure I took the MPRE at some point during my 3rd year. I remember it being kind of a joke. But I'm also MD/DC, which is awesome because NO CLE BITCHES!
Click to expand...

Yup. We also had to take a mandatory PR class in law school and MD tests PR on their bar exam, so I'm not too concerned. I'm more concerned about waiver DC bar apps taking 9 months to process.
 
lifeofthepoors, perhaps. but really I have a bad attitude towards the whole hazing process... I mean is it really necessary for me to sweat bullets through the in person interview in a board room with 5 people who hold my fate in their hands if they don't like how I'm dressed?

Additionally THEY HAVE HAD COMPUTER GLITCHES IN THE PAST!!! Having known or reason to know of these prior issues, you should be forewarned. You sit for this exam, you assume the risk of severe emotional distress. You are voluntarily subjecting yourself to this possibility of distress by choosing to type it. I'm sure there's a vaguely worded disclaimer printed on the back of the admission ticket, they are all lawyers after all.
 
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