California Bar leader to step down amid exam debacle

By Karen Sloan

May 2 (Reuters) - The State Bar of California’s top administrator will step down in July amid the disastrous rollout of a new bar exam in February and the agency’s ongoing budget problems, the organization announced on Friday.

Leah Wilson will not seek another term as the state bar’s executive director — a role she has held since 2017 — the bar said. Her last day will be July 7 and she plans to retire from state service, the state bar said.

Many bar takers called for Wilson to resign during state bar meetings that followed the failed February exam, which was intended to save money but was plagued by technical and logistical problems.

“While I leave proud of my accomplishments, I remain deeply regretful about the rollout of the February 2025 bar exam and its impact on both thousands of aspiring attorneys and the State Bar's ability to make much-needed changes to the process of attorney licensure,” Wilson said in a statement.

Wilson did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on Friday.

Public records show that Wilson earned a $362,067 salary in 2023.

California’s new bar exam debuted in February and was administered both remotely and in-person. It did not use any components of the national bar exam that the state has used for decades. That change was expected to save as much as $3.8 million annually by eliminating the need to rent out large event spaces, but examinees faced myriad problems including frozen computers.

The state bar now projects that addressing those problems in July will cost at least $2.3 million more than anticipated. Test takers and legal academics have also questioned the development and quality of the 200 multiple questions that appeared on the exam and the California Supreme Court could order the state bar to scrap the new test for July.

Wilson said in her statement that while she regrets the execution of the new attorney licensing test, “it is only right that California develops its own bar exam.”

Her statement also said that she “reshaped the State Bar into an organization driven by its public protection mission and firmly committed to increasing access to and inclusion in the legal system.”

Brandon Stallings, chair of the state bar’s board of trustees, said the board appreciated Wilson’s efforts.

“We understand and respect her decision, and we are grateful for her service,” Stallings said.

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