Law Society of Ontario cancels upcoming bar exams after content allegedly leaked to some candidates
The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) has cancelled upcoming bar exams slated to begin Tuesday after examination content was allegedly improperly accessed" by some candidates.
More than 1,000 candidates were set to write the online examinations, which were scheduled from March 8 to 11 and March 22 to 25, the LSO said in a statement issued Saturday.
This decision has been made as a result of information the Law Society has received which strongly indicates that examination content has been improperly accessed by some candidates, compromising the integrity of the upcoming examination period," the LSO said.
The breach also affects candidates who had already written the exam. The LSO noted that some candidates who passed the exam and were eligible to be called to the bar are now under review. Their eligibility is now on hold pending an investigation.
The LSO also said that evidence indicates the potential involvement of third parties in this activity." External investigators are conducting a review.
Diana Miles, chief executive officer of the LSO, said in the statement that the cancellation of the exams is necessary to protect the public interest."
This is a critical and necessary step to protect the integrity of the licensing process and the reputation of those candidates not involved," she said in the press release.
The LSO said exams will be rescheduled as soon as possible, once additional measures have been implemented to further strengthen the delivery of licensing examinations; affected candidates will receive additional information through their online accounts."
Dominique Habbouche, an articling student based in Ottawa, was scheduled to write the bar exam later this month. She says the cancellation is upsetting and complicates things." If Habbouche passed her March examination, she would have been eligible to be called to the bar in June. Now, her plans are up in the air.
Most of my other articling friends are panicking as well just because we don't necessarily know what it looks like for us," she told the Star. We don't know what's going to happen. Is it going to be rescheduled? How long are we going to be waiting?"
Licensing exams are scheduled three times a year. To be eligible for licensing, candidates must pass both the barrister and solicitor exams. Licensing exams are open book and each comprises of 160 multiple-choice questions.
The LSO has yet to provide an update on when examinations will be rescheduled and declined to respond to additional questions from the Star, to protect the integrity of the process."
Andrew Montague-Reinholdt, an employment and labour lawyer and the director of the student program at Nelligan Law in Ottawa, says the process leading up to the bar exam is amongst the most stressful and difficult times" for students on their journey to become lawyers.
He says the articling students in his firm who were set to write the exam were juggling a full-time job while studying in the evenings and during the weekends.
These are professionals who have gone through an undergraduate program, a graduate law degree, passed the LSAT and every single law school exam," he said. So then, two days or three days before the exam, to be told you're not able to write this anymore puts them in a really difficult spot."
James Bowie, an Ottawa-based lawyer specializing in criminal law and civil litigation, says the cancellations could have significant financial implications for the law students.
Many of these students are carrying high six-figure student loans, and they need to begin paying against those loans. They are now unable to do so," he said.
There are also wider ramifications as a result of the cancellations for law firms who employ articling students or those set to hire newly licensed lawyers, Bowie highlighted.
The firms where they work now need to make some pretty real human resources decisions about whether to continue to employ these fine young blameless law students," he said. The firms could be paying not only for their salary, but also for the licensing process, including the cost of their licensing exam. That investment is now either delayed or in question."
Bowie also noted that this incident comes at a time when the merits of the bar examination process are being called into question.
There's a real question about whether the very bar exam itself is egalitarian, whether it represents an unfair barrier to entry, whether it serves to increase the quality of legal services," Bowie said. I can't imagine this will do anything to bolster justification for the bar exam."
Joshua Chong is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star. Reach Joshua via email: jchong@torstar.ca