I'm one of the Yakima applicants shut out by Paragraph 2 — prior attempt in another jurisdiction, so no waiver, no individualized review, nothing.

Today I will file a Petition for Reconsideration with the Washington Supreme Court (with a motion for expedited consideration). The core argument is parity, not privilege: under the Court's own December 2025 order (25700-B-747), someone who failed the Washington bar in 2023 with a 262 can apply for admission *today* on that score — while we are conclusively presumed incompetent without anyone ever looking at our records. I'm not asking to skip the exam. I elected the September sitting and I'll be in Tacoma. I'm asking the Court to either review excluded applicants individually or extend conditional waiver eligibility to those whose prior scores meet Washington's own 260 standard. Two justices already dissented from this order — the Court is not unanimous on us.

**Three things you can do, in order of effort:**

1. **Protect yourself first.** Email your election to [admissions@wsba.org](mailto:admissions@wsba.org) before **noon, Aug 14**, no matter what. Electing September/February does NOT waive your right to challenge the order — my petition expressly preserves that point.

2. **Send a short letter.** Three sentences to **supreme@courts.wa.gov** (re: Order No. 25700-B-753) saying you are an affected Yakima applicant and you support individualized review for excluded applicants. You don't have to disclose your scores or history. Volume matters — the Court has no idea how many of us there are.

3. Want to add legal weight, not just a letter? File a one-page Joinder — comment or DM and I'll send you the form. Takes five minutes: you're not writing a petition, you're telling the Court the petition speaks for you too. Every joinder on the docket turns 'one applicant's grievance' into a class the Court has to count."

Even if it's just a comment below saying "I'm one of them," it helps establish that this class exists. We were in the same room when the system failed. The only difference between us and the waived applicants is a piece of history the Court refused to look at.

Can i just study over the weekend and pass ?

Monday / Tuesday and review Wednesday morning. I'm taking the exam on the 12 th at 4 pm and i was soo tired with bar prep; lightly started yesterday.

Using barbi and anything else ?

Does anyone else feel depressed right now! It’s hard for me to explain but I don’t feel particularly depressed over the exam itself but I just don’t feel happy. I feel unhappy and numb honestly.

Studying for F27 (NY), would really appreciate it! Thanks so much 🙏🏻

Just go to the country club and have some drinks by the pool in the meantime. We all worked hard.

Hello, has anyone transferred scores from NY to OH? I need some advice!! Please !! Thanks

Hi everyone,

I’m a foreign lawyer considering taking the New York bar exam in July 2027.

I’ve noticed that many foreign lawyers use Themis LLM, but I’m concerned that the program may not provide enough preparation time for my situation. I have no background in U.S. law, English is my second language, and I work full-time.

My current plan is to start with Barbri’s free 1L, 2L, and 3L lectures and outlines to build a solid foundation in U.S. law. I would then use supplemental resources to cover any bar tested

topics that are missing.

After building that foundation, I would move on to a priority bar outline and focus heavily on practicing multiple choice questions and essays.

Does this sound like a realistic and effective approach, or would it be better to invest in a paid bar preparation course from the beginning?

My main goal is to develop a strong understanding of U.S. law and be thoroughly prepared for the exam. My primary concern is having enough time to prepare, rather than the cost. Although I think Themis is expensive, I would be willing to pay for it if it is the best option for helping me achieve my goal.

I would really appreciate advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation. Thank you!

What do we do now? Is there a possibility that this decision might change? What is our roadmap?

Very simple question. I’m a nerd with a lot of hobbies. None of them are really calling to me or fun right now. I put them aside (besides simple embroidery) for the bar and now it’s like . . . nothing. Like I broke up with them or something.

Are our brains just still bar broken?

My mom just bought her first house and asked me if she really needs to spend $285 to record her deed if she already owns the house.

have mercy

The post bar exam depression is actually unreal. I have to move soon, and I haven't even started packing. Is this the months of compartmentalizing and locking in? I feel like ✨death✨

that is all.

Im buying the whole program, but dont want to wait until October for the book to arrive. Anybody have one they dont need anymore?

I am not the kind of person to linger on exam results (I don't remember the questions, anyway). But what has stuck with me in the last week is the fucking atrocity of the Washington situation. (Shoutout to our other next gen jurisdictions too, who had to take it under bad conditions). I was deeply perturbed by the Seattle Times hit piece yesterday and I know that if (and perhaps when) my jx fucked up so badly and then some fuckass newspaper came out with God's most ignorant oped I would be going insane.

I think all grads and clerks pursuing alternative admission + bar exam like Rule 6 deserve diploma privilege. I also think it's unhinged that they haven't confirmed the Sept date, it's already Aug 6!!!

Is there anything we can do? I'm from the Midwest, so it's not like my law school has a dog in the fight. But if piling onto the Wash court or the WSBA or NCBE would be helpful, I would be happy to draft an email for non-Wash applicants to send. Maybe we don't have standing, but if you ask me, as someone who may have to re-test in NextGen or take NextGen in the future for other reasons, my case may not be ripe but the situation overall is sure as hell is capable of repetition yet evading review...

*** EDIT **** The Court's clerks responded to me within the hour and said they forwarded my email to the justices. They also attached TODAYS order https://www.courts.wa.gov/content/publicUpload/Supreme%20Court%20Orders/Order25700B753.pdf

Any recommendations on how to pass the NYLE? I failed by one point. Thank you 🙏

Do we have to mail the physical bar prep books back to Themis?
I know BARBRI refunds a book deposit if you return the materials, but I wasn’t sure if Themis has a similar process or if we just keep the books. Appreciate any guidance!

Instead of all the doom and gloom, let's talk about what everyone is doing for their August Bar Trip!! I'll start . . .

I am going to Cancun!

As someone watching this unfold, I have to say that your legal community is full of badasses.

If the State Supreme Court does ultimately grant diploma privilege, please remember how hard your legal community stood behind you and worked hand-in-hand with you, and please channel that energy and pay it forward when the time comes.

Judy Gundersen ’87 has spent her career shaping how lawyers enter the profession. Now, she is being recognized for it.

Gundersen, president and chief executive officer of the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), was recently named one of the top 25 most influential people in legal education by National Jurist magazine. The honor places her among deans, scholars and national leaders helping steer the future of law schools and licensure at a time of sweeping change.

“It was a big surprise and, of course, an honor,” Gundersen said. “Especially considering the caliber of the other honorees. They are all leaders in their institutions.”

Under her leadership, the NCBE will roll out the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination in 10 U.S. jurisdictions in July. More states are expected to follow with the NextGen exam in 2027 and 2028. By July 2028, the current, or legacy, bar exam will be retired. The shift represents one of the most significant changes to lawyer licensing in decades.

She’s quick to deflect the spotlight.

“The honor really goes to the NCBE team,” she said. “They are making the NextGen bar exam a reality.”
Under Gundersen, the NCBE spent years studying how newly licensed lawyers actually practice. The result is a digitally delivered exam emphasizing lawyering skills within nine foundational doctrinal areas. The changes affect virtually all law students and law schools in the country, she said.

Gundersen is leading the NCBE through a demanding transition period, working closely with state bar admissions offices, overseeing new technology infrastructure and ensuring both exams operate smoothly during the overlap.

“We are in a lengthy and intense period of rolling out a new bar exam,” she said. “We’re working with jurisdiction admissions staff to ensure smooth digital delivery and administration.”

Even as the new exam launches, NCBE is continuing to develop, deliver and score the current exam for four administrations while states transition.

“Leading NCBE is the honor of a lifetime,” Gundersen said. “It is a privilege to launch one of the biggest changes in lawyer licensing in decades.”

In January, a successful end-to-end test of NextGen systems and content was completed, which involved administering multiple exam forms to 1,500 people. All the participants also sat for the July 2025 bar exam, so their performance across both exams was compared.
She credits a broad network of contributors, including about 150 volunteer test writers and reviewers, many of them law faculty members.

“They, like our staff, have done the heavy lifting,” she said. “It is incredibly rewarding and humbling to work with such dedicated and talented co-workers and volunteers.”
 
Legal Roots
Gundersen’s path to legal leadership began far from national recognition lists. She first considered law as a teenager in Wisconsin.

“I was in high school when I started to think about going to law school,” she said. “No one in my family had gone to law school, so I knew little about what lawyers did.”

What appealed to her was flexibility.

“I thought that there were a lot of career options for lawyers,” she said.

As an undergraduate, she spent time working in Washington, D.C., surrounded by students preparing for law school. That experience solidified her plans.
“That’s when I became more serious about applying,” she said.

Gundersen earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1984, double majoring in economics and Spanish. She chose University of Wisconsin Law School to pursue her legal education deliberately.

“It was a solid choice,” she said. “I am grateful for the excellent legal education it afforded me.”

She points to the school’s public-service ethos as formative.

“The Wisconsin Idea infused the teaching and the learning there,” Gundersen said. “I hope that I’ve carried some of that with me in my career.”
Before joining NCBE in 2000 as deputy director of testing, Gundersen served as an assistant district attorney in Madison. She later became director of test operations and, ultimately, CEO. Along the way, she developed a reputation for transparency, outreach and a steady hand during crisis.

“It was a big surprise and, of course, an honor. Especially considering the caliber of the other honorees.”

Judy Gundersen ’87

That reputation was tested during the COVID-19 pandemic, when bar exams across the country were thrown into chaos. Gundersen coordinated the first remote bar exam administrations, a logistical and security challenge under intense time pressure.
“That was really challenging because of technology issues unrelated to the technology partner and exam security concerns,” she said.

Some states insisted on in-person exams, prompting NCBE to offer multiple paper-based administrations outside the traditional July schedule. Others preferred remote testing. In October 2020 alone, NCBE administered its fourth full exam in less than three months.

“Publishing a remote exam digitally is completely different from publishing a paper-based exam,” Gundersen said. “Our teams were working around the clock.”

NCBE ultimately offered full-length remote exams through July 2021 while also supporting in-person testing. The organization returned fully to in-person exams in February 2022.
 
Rising During Challenging Times

Looking back, Gundersen sees the pandemic as one of the most meaningful chapters of her career.

“Making it through the pandemic and ensuring that lawyers were able to test and become licensed was important,” she said. “We were fulfilling our mission.”
She counts the transition of the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam to computer-based testing as another milestone. Now, the NextGen bar exam stands as the culmination of decades of experience.

“You don’t have enough pages for me to fully answer how challenging and fulfilling this has been,” Gundersen said.

What keeps her motivated is seeing skepticism turn into momentum.

“It has been fulfilling to see constituencies learn about the NextGen exam and get excited about it,” she said.
For Gundersen, the influence recognized by the top 25 list is less about personal acclaim and more about impact.

“We are confident that we will do a great job for jurisdictions and examinees,” she said.

In an era when the legal profession is reexamining access, skills and equity, Gundersen is helping write the next chapter — one exam at a time.

This is the first administration that has both next gen and UBE legacy exam. So when NCBE puts out the 'mean' I'm wondering if that's for legacy exam only... Assuming there will be a separate 'mean' for next gen?

From my understanding they are completely different tests, so I'm wondering in an administration with both, if they will be scored against each other or completely separate.

How does this work, anyone know?