E #25 (2025) "California Bar Exam: Technological Impact"

BONA FIDE Dialogues with Christina Kueppers
Season II, Episode #25

The February 2025 California Bar Exam was affected by significant technical failures, impacting thousands of test takers. Multiple technical issues experienced by bar takers led to widespread frustration. Additionally, many registered test takers withdrew before the exam due to concerns about the reliability of the new exam platform.
Jay Bijlani and I discussed this issue along with other challenges surrounding the California Bar Exam. Initially, we planned to focus on the intersection of the CA Bar Exam and AI, but with the widespread technical failures dominating the news, we shifted our focus. This highlights a paradox I keep noticing - while discussions about AI advancements dominate conversations, simpler technologies continue to fail us at critical moments and in everyday life.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:00:23 Guest's Bio
00:02:35 California Bar Exam: February 2025
00:06:13 What are the main issues with the California Bar Exam, and how can they be addressed?
00:23:43 BAR Exam Tutoring. CA Bar Exam Grading.
00:50:20 If you had a magic wand, how would you improve the California Bar Exam and legal education overall?
00:58:35 How to Manage Bar Exam Pressure: Soft Skills and the Power of Mentorship
01:10:23 CA Bar Exam and AI
01:27:31 Jay's hobbies
01:29:24 Kindness

Jay is the founder and president of Esquired, a premier education consulting firm, where he supports law graduates preparing for the California Bar Exam through personalized tutoring programs. He also consults with law school faculty to enhance Bar prep strategies and academic support, ensuring alignment with best practices and measurable learning outcomes.
A pivotal experience in Jay’s career was his role as a Bar grader for the
California Bar, where he graded thousands of essay responses over multiple examination cycles. This experience gave him invaluable insights into the grading process, allowing him to refine his Bar prep strategies and develop targeted approaches that address the real challenges students face. His unique understanding of the Bar exam structure and grading criteria informs his work with law graduates, significantly improving pass rates through personalized programs.
Jay’s passion for legal education led him to key academic positions. As the Assistant Director and Acting Director of Bar Exam Services at Golden Gate University School of Law, he co- created and taught practical legal writing curricula that emphasized critical lawyering skills. He has also taught and mentored at Santa Clara University School of Law, focusing on legal writing and Bar exam preparation, guiding students through all stages of their legal careers.
In addition to his work in legal education, Jay has represented indigent clients in complex criminal and juvenile appeals, and has worked in The Hague at a United Nations ad hoc criminal tribunal established to prosecute war crimes. Jay is fluent in several languages, and holds a J.D.
from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a B.A. from New York University. He has served on the boards of Human Rights Advocates, Inc., and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom.
He now lives in San Diego with his husband and two children.
https://esquiredbar.com
https://www.youtube.com/@UCHNOz83kKi8ni-wNOkPmtxQ

Thank you for watching 💙
"BONA FIDE Dialogues with Christina Kueppers"
𝒞𝑜𝓃𝓃𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝑔𝑒𝓃𝓊𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓁𝓎, 𝒷𝓇𝑜𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃!

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