California State Bar Accidentally Releases General Topics of Its Upcoming Exam

Aspiring attorneys probably aren’t objecting to a recent slip-up by the State Bar of California.

The State Bar accidentally released the general topics that will appear on the upcoming exam, which lawyers must pass to practice in the state, Chief of Programs Donna Hershkowitz said in a press release issued on Saturday, July 27.

“On Saturday, July 27, we became aware that the State Bar inadvertently prematurely provided deans of several California law schools a list of the general subject matter topics contained in the July 2019 California Bar Examination essay questions and performance test,” Hershkowitz said.

California Bar accidentally released topics of its upcoming exam. For non-lawyers: each bar exam has approx 6 essay questions on different areas of law. There are about 18 possible areas to study, and you don’t know what will be on the exam ahead of time. https://t.co/SttgkDkkIY

— Krista Nicole (@KristaNicole17) July 29, 2019

The release happened on Thursday during a routine invitation to observe a grading session, which is typically sent out after the exam is done, according to the statement.

Although the State Bar said there is no evidence that the information was shared with students, it decided to send the information to everyone who is taking the test on Tuesday and Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution and fairness.”

The subject areas that will appear are civil procedure, remedies/constitutional law, criminal law and procedure and contracts, and evidence.

The State Bar clarified that the release of the general topics affects only the state’s exam.

“The National Conference of Bar Examiners has confirmed that the national component is not impacted by the course of action that the State Bar of CA has taken,” the State Bar wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

CA Bar Exam applicants: The release of general topics affects the CA exam only. The National Conference of Bar Examiners has confirmed that the national component is not impacted by the course of action that the State Bar of CA has taken.

— State Bar of California (@StateBarCA) July 28, 2019

The California bar exam is given twice a year and consists of five 1-hour essay questions, one 90-minute performance test, and 200 multiple-choice questions.

Some people had trouble believing the email that landed in their inboxes.

One person tweeted, “Is this real?” to which the State Bar replied, “Yes.”

Those preparing for the upcoming test can likely rest a bit easier now—at least until Tuesday.