The New York State Bar Association is calling on bar examiners to do better, specifically, to establish clear procedures for emergencies and disruptions during the bar exam. On Saturday, NYSBA’s governing body, the House of Delegates, adopted a report from its Young Lawyers Section regarding the administration of the exam.
“The bar exam standard protocols have not been updated since 1991,” said Taa Grays, NYSBA president. “As part of our mission to be a voice for the legal profession, we are calling to establish revised protocols and new procedures for bar exams that are interrupted or delayed. Preparing for emergency events protects our future lawyers and the integrity of the bar exam.”
It’s a welcome statement, and the New York Board of Law Examiners have demonstrated repeatedly over the last year exactly why it is necessary.
Regular readers will remember the incident that started this all too well. In July 2025, a Fordham graduate collapsed from apparent cardiac arrest while taking the bar exam at Hofstra. Witnesses described proctors urging examinees to keep working while the woman lay on the floor, without even asking if anyone in the room had medical training. Examinees, who had surrendered their phones per exam rules, couldn’t call 911 themselves. Campus security eventually arrived and administered CPR; a defibrillator was brought in a couple of minutes after that. The test was not stopped until the scheduled lunch break. It resumed on time after.
The woman survived. The NY Board of Law Examiners did not cover itself in glory. When Above the Law called for comment immediately following the exam, we learned that the Board wasn’t answering phones because they were out of the office for the rest of the week. When the Board did eventually issue a statement claiming their “priority” was the candidate in distress, Joe Patrice noted the obvious: “The passive voice… the last refuge of the scoundrel.”
In the aftermath, New York Assembly Judiciary Chairman Charles Lavine wrote to NYBOLE expressing concern that “the response to the situation appeared disorganized, delayed, and lacking in clear protocol,” and calling for a uniform emergency response policy. NYBOLE’s response to that was… largely silence. Protocols were not updated. And then February happened.
This past winter, a historic “Snowicane” walloped New York, canceling over 10,000 flights and prompting New York City to impose a travel ban. The Board’s response was to leave a voicemail informing applicants that failure to show up would be counted as a withdrawal, three of which can bar someone from reapplying. A test site in Washington Heights closed due to the blizzard while other New York City locations stayed open, raising fresh concerns about exam integrity. New Jersey offered a two-and-a-half-hour delay, which accomplished close to nothing for applicants who couldn’t physically get their cars out of the snow — or whose test sheet delivery truck was also, it turned out, stuck in the blizzard.
The NYSBA’s call for updated protocols is a reasonable, if overdue, step. The five reforms we outlined after the cardiac arrest incident last summer — including on-site EMTs (a practice Florida, of all places, already uses), smaller testing locations that make it more feasible to suspend the exam in a crisis, and empowering proctors to use actual human judgment — remain entirely valid. Perhaps the House of Delegates’ action will move the needle where a woman almost dying didn’t.
One hopes.
Earlier: Bar Exam Taker Suffers Apparent Heart Attack
Bar Applicants Call B.S. On Examiner’s Account Of Test-Taker Suffering Cardiac Arrest
5 Crucial Lessons From The Bar Exam’s Near Deadly Failure
Politician Calls On New York Bar To Reform ‘Disorganized, Delayed’ Emergency Response
NY Bar Exam Tells Applicants Stranded By Historic Blizzard To Pound Snow
Snowmageddon 2026: Bar Examiners Double Down On Being The Worst
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1
The post So… Maybe Bar Examiners Need An Actual Plan For Emergencies? appeared first on Above the Law.
The New York State Bar Association is calling on bar examiners to do better, specifically, to establish clear procedures for emergencies and disruptions during the bar exam. On Saturday, NYSBA’s governing body, the House of Delegates, adopted a report from its Young Lawyers Section regarding the administration of the exam.
“The bar exam standard protocols have not been updated since 1991,” said Taa Grays, NYSBA president. “As part of our mission to be a voice for the legal profession, we are calling to establish revised protocols and new procedures for bar exams that are interrupted or delayed. Preparing for emergency events protects our future lawyers and the integrity of the bar exam.”
It’s a welcome statement, and the New York Board of Law Examiners have demonstrated repeatedly over the last year exactly why it is necessary.
Regular readers will remember the incident that started this all too well. In July 2025, a Fordham graduate collapsed from apparent cardiac arrest while taking the bar exam at Hofstra. Witnesses described proctors urging examinees to keep working while the woman lay on the floor, without even asking if anyone in the room had medical training. Examinees, who had surrendered their phones per exam rules, couldn’t call 911 themselves. Campus security eventually arrived and administered CPR; a defibrillator was brought in a couple of minutes after that. The test was not stopped until the scheduled lunch break. It resumed on time after.
The woman survived. The NY Board of Law Examiners did not cover itself in glory. When Above the Law called for comment immediately following the exam, we learned that the Board wasn’t answering phones because they were out of the office for the rest of the week. When the Board did eventually issue a statement claiming their “priority” was the candidate in distress, Joe Patrice noted the obvious: “The passive voice… the last refuge of the scoundrel.”
In the aftermath, New York Assembly Judiciary Chairman Charles Lavine wrote to NYBOLE expressing concern that “the response to the situation appeared disorganized, delayed, and lacking in clear protocol,” and calling for a uniform emergency response policy. NYBOLE’s response to that was… largely silence. Protocols were not updated. And then February happened.
This past winter, a historic “Snowicane” walloped New York, canceling over 10,000 flights and prompting New York City to impose a travel ban. The Board’s response was to leave a voicemail informing applicants that failure to show up would be counted as a withdrawal, three of which can bar someone from reapplying. A test site in Washington Heights closed due to the blizzard while other New York City locations stayed open, raising fresh concerns about exam integrity. New Jersey offered a two-and-a-half-hour delay, which accomplished close to nothing for applicants who couldn’t physically get their cars out of the snow — or whose test sheet delivery truck was also, it turned out, stuck in the blizzard.
The NYSBA’s call for updated protocols is a reasonable, if overdue, step. The five reforms we outlined after the cardiac arrest incident last summer — including on-site EMTs (a practice Florida, of all places, already uses), smaller testing locations that make it more feasible to suspend the exam in a crisis, and empowering proctors to use actual human judgment — remain entirely valid. Perhaps the House of Delegates’ action will move the needle where a woman almost dying didn’t.
One hopes.
Earlier: Bar Exam Taker Suffers Apparent Heart Attack
Bar Applicants Call B.S. On Examiner’s Account Of Test-Taker Suffering Cardiac Arrest
5 Crucial Lessons From The Bar Exam’s Near Deadly Failure
Politician Calls On New York Bar To Reform ‘Disorganized, Delayed’ Emergency Response
NY Bar Exam Tells Applicants Stranded By Historic Blizzard To Pound Snow
Snowmageddon 2026: Bar Examiners Double Down On Being The Worst
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1
The post So… Maybe Bar Examiners Need An Actual Plan For Emergencies? appeared first on Above the Law.
