In the wake of the February exam meltdown, the justices threw a professional lifeline to applicants who failed or withdrew from the test. But not everyone will benefit.
California’s Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to provisionally license only a subset of applicants who withdrew from or failed the disastrous February 2025 bar exam, dashing the hopes of hundreds who were seeking a broader remedy.
In a unanimous order, the seven justices authorized “first-time registrants”—those who had enrolled to take California’s licensing exam for the first time in Februrary—to practice under supervision through 2027 or until they pass a future exam, whichever comes first. Law school deans and some applicants had pleaded for the designation, which gives participants the chance to work in the legal industry and earn a paycheck in the profession while preparing for the next test.
