{"id":144803,"date":"2026-02-25T15:14:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T23:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/02\/25\/snowmageddon-2026-bar-examiners-double-down-on-being-the-worst\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T15:14:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T23:14:22","slug":"snowmageddon-2026-bar-examiners-double-down-on-being-the-worst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/02\/25\/snowmageddon-2026-bar-examiners-double-down-on-being-the-worst\/","title":{"rendered":"Snowmageddon 2026: Bar Examiners Double Down On Being The Worst"},"content":{"rendered":"

We haven\u2019t yet heard all the horror stories of this bar exam cycle. But we do know that bar examiners in New York dropped a voicemail informing everyone that they\u2019d be marked as withdrawn<\/a> if they couldn\u2019t overcome the travel challenges of 10,000 canceled flights and two feet of snow. It was yet another reminder \u2014 heaped upon every lesson learned throughout the COVID pandemic \u2014 that bar examiners care less about making sure licensed attorneys achieve minimum standards of professionalism than they do enforcing petty rules.<\/p>\n

While the brunt of the storm hit Manhattan and Long Island, the Albany test center apparently didn\u2019t exhibit much sensitivity to the weather conditions either. \u201cCapital Center in Albany acted like crazy people,\u201d wrote one Reddit post<\/a>. \u201cKicked everyone out into the SNOW 10 mins after exam ended. And no Ubers just for fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to go home, but you can\u2019t stay here.<\/em> Future professionals probably deserve better than the hangers on after last call, but that\u2019s too much to ask. And these were the lucky ones \u2014 no matter the indignity of shivering in the cold waiting for Ubers, these applicants at least got to take the exam unlike the folks still waiting on a flight to get rescheduled. <\/p>\n

As bad as New York\u2019s response to this storm may be, it\u2019s important to keep in mind that a callous fixation on arbitrary power trips is not limited to bar examiners of just one jurisdiction. Over the bridge in New Jersey, examiners offered a two-and-a-half hour delayed start<\/a> to the exam, a gesture that seems compassionate until you remember that a couple hour delay does very, very little to make the roads safer and exactly squat for anyone trying to fly in. <\/p>\n

From a Redditor:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Unfortunately I\u2019m not in the best spirits. I\u2019m taking the bar exam tomorrow. The Board has approved a two-hour delay for tomorrow\u2019s bar exam, but this is not enough. Roads remain unsafe, transit is operating on modified schedules, and areas near Atlantic City, Margate, and Ventnor are extremely difficult to access. Many examinees physically cannot get their cars out or travel safely. I know for me Ive been trying to shovel my car out since 1pm to no avail and I\u2019m hoping the uber tomorrow doesn\u2019t cancel on me. I\u2019m already so worried.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Of course the examiners assume that anyone who doesn\u2019t show failed to make it of their own accord, without considering that cabs wouldn\u2019t be available to drive everyone through blizzard conditions. But at least one NJ location found itself on the wrong end of this assumption. According to a tipster, after arriving at the test center two hours later, applicants still had to wait a few more hours because\u2026 the truck delivering the test sheets hadn\u2019t arrived!<\/p>\n

Alas, so focused on making the experience miserable for the applicants, the examiners never considered the possibility that their vendors would face the same obstacles. At least they could rest assured knowing that as much as this inconvenienced the precious exam, it made everything even worse for applicants too.<\/p>\n

Good luck to everyone returning to the test today. As always, if you hear of any bar exam horror stories, let us know at tips@abovethelaw.com.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: NY Bar Exam Tells Applicants Stranded By Historic Blizzard To Pound Snow<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Snowmageddon 2026: Bar Examiners Double Down On Being The Worst<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We haven\u2019t yet heard all the horror stories of this bar exam cycle. But we do know that bar examiners in New York dropped a voicemail informing everyone that they\u2019d be marked as withdrawn<\/a> if they couldn\u2019t overcome the travel challenges of 10,000 canceled flights and two feet of snow. It was yet another reminder \u2014 heaped upon every lesson learned throughout the COVID pandemic \u2014 that bar examiners care less about making sure licensed attorneys achieve minimum standards of professionalism than they do enforcing petty rules.<\/p>\n

While the brunt of the storm hit Manhattan and Long Island, the Albany test center apparently didn\u2019t exhibit much sensitivity to the weather conditions either. \u201cCapital Center in Albany acted like crazy people,\u201d wrote one Reddit post<\/a>. \u201cKicked everyone out into the SNOW 10 mins after exam ended. And no Ubers just for fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to go home, but you can\u2019t stay here.<\/em> Future professionals probably deserve better than the hangers on after last call, but that\u2019s too much to ask. And these were the lucky ones \u2014 no matter the indignity of shivering in the cold waiting for Ubers, these applicants at least got to take the exam unlike the folks still waiting on a flight to get rescheduled. <\/p>\n

As bad as New York\u2019s response to this storm may be, it\u2019s important to keep in mind that a callous fixation on arbitrary power trips is not limited to bar examiners of just one jurisdiction. Over the bridge in New Jersey, examiners offered a two-and-a-half hour delayed start<\/a> to the exam, a gesture that seems compassionate until you remember that a couple hour delay does very, very little to make the roads safer and exactly squat for anyone trying to fly in. <\/p>\n

From a Redditor:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Unfortunately I\u2019m not in the best spirits. I\u2019m taking the bar exam tomorrow. The Board has approved a two-hour delay for tomorrow\u2019s bar exam, but this is not enough. Roads remain unsafe, transit is operating on modified schedules, and areas near Atlantic City, Margate, and Ventnor are extremely difficult to access. Many examinees physically cannot get their cars out or travel safely. I know for me Ive been trying to shovel my car out since 1pm to no avail and I\u2019m hoping the uber tomorrow doesn\u2019t cancel on me. I\u2019m already so worried.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Of course the examiners assume that anyone who doesn\u2019t show failed to make it of their own accord, without considering that cabs wouldn\u2019t be available to drive everyone through blizzard conditions. But at least one NJ location found itself on the wrong end of this assumption. According to a tipster, after arriving at the test center two hours later, applicants still had to wait a few more hours because\u2026 the truck delivering the test sheets hadn\u2019t arrived!<\/p>\n

Alas, so focused on making the experience miserable for the applicants, the examiners never considered the possibility that their vendors would face the same obstacles. At least they could rest assured knowing that as much as this inconvenienced the precious exam, it made everything even worse for applicants too.<\/p>\n

Good luck to everyone returning to the test today. As always, if you hear of any bar exam horror stories, let us know at tips@abovethelaw.com.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: NY Bar Exam Tells Applicants Stranded By Historic Blizzard To Pound Snow<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Snowmageddon 2026: Bar Examiners Double Down On Being The Worst<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We haven\u2019t yet heard all the horror stories of this bar exam cycle. But we do know that bar examiners in New York dropped a voicemail informing everyone that they\u2019d be marked as withdrawn if they couldn\u2019t overcome the travel challenges of 10,000 canceled flights and two feet of snow. It was yet another reminder […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}