Jul. 23, 2026
Why California Just Killed Its Own Bar Exam | Kabateck & Karnikian: Off the Record, Ep. 9
California's bar exam has weathered declining pass rates, a chaotic pandemic-era rollout, and a February 2025 meltdown that pulled 29 questions -- now the state's highest court has ordered it scrapped. In this episode, Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian break down California's move to the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam, and why nobody -- not even the State Bar -- knows yet what the state's own half-day addition will look like.
The California Supreme Court has ordered the State Bar to abandon its homegrown exam and adopt the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam. Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian walk through how it got here, from pass rates dipping into the 30% range and COVID-era platform failures to the February 2025 meltdown that pulled 29 questions and triggered a state audit, plus the disclosure that AI wrote some of the questions. They sort out which class of law students takes which exam, why nobody can say what the California-specific half day will look like, and whether handing the test to someone else fixes a body that still has to administer it. Brian's take on the odds involves a 97-year-old and a parking sensor.
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