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State Bar Leader to Step Down, Citing February Exam Fiasco
By Kimber Cooley, associate editor
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LEAH T. WILSON State Bar executive director |
California State Bar Executive Director Leah T. Wilson will step down from her role in July amid a flurry of controversies surrounding the rollout of the February bar exam and ongoing budgetary problems, the regulatory agency announced Friday.
Wilson informed the State Bar’s Board of Trustees that she will not seek another term in office after her contract ends this summer. Her last day will be July 7.
Calls for her resignation followed the problematic February exam, in which test-takers complained of technical difficulties, computers freezing, issues with proctors, and confusion over certain multiple-choice questions, some of which, the State Bar admitted last week, were drafted with the assistance of AI.
The February examination offered both in-person and remote options for the first time in California history, but many attorney-hopefuls sitting for the exam said that they were unable to complete it. The hybrid test was expected to save the cash-strapped agency $3.8 million annually by reducing the need to rent out large event spaces, a welcome change in light of last year’s announcement that the organization expects a $24 million deficit this year.
Instead, the State Bar anticipates that addressing the myriad problems experienced by test-takers before the July exam, which the California Supreme Court has ordered to be conducted in person, will cost the agency an additional $2.3 million. The agency is awaiting a response from the state’s high court on a request to adjust grading for the February test by lowering the passing threshold and imputing scores for some hopefuls.
State Bar Leadership
In Friday’s press release, Wilson said:
“Over the course of nearly 10 years, I have had the privilege of leading the State Bar through a period of transformative change. I am deeply grateful to the Board of Trustees for their confidence in my leadership, even during challenging times. 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.”
She continued:
“Despite our best intentions, the experiences of applicants for the February Bar Exam simply were unacceptable, and I fully recognize the frustration and stress this experience caused. While there are no words to assuage those emotions, I do sincerely apologize.”
Adding that “as the fourth largest economy in the world, it is only right that California develops its own bar exam,” she remarked that future tests should “reflect the innovation, excellence, equity, and accessibility principles that are central to who we are as Californians” and commented that “[w]e will not get there by turning backward.”
Agency Positions
Wilson was first appointed to the executive director position in 2017, following a two-year stint as the agency’s chief operating officer. She stepped down from leadership in January 2020 to pursue other opportunities but accepted a return to the position in July 2021, while the State Bar was dealing with allegations that now-disbarred attorney Tom Girardi had lavished employees with gifts from his firm.
Public records reveal that Wilson’s annual salary is $379,928.
Before working with the State Bar, Wilson served as the court executive officer for Alameda Superior Court and earned joint degrees in law and public policy from U.C. Berkeley.
State Bar Board of Trustees Chair Brandon Stallings said of Wilson:
“The Board recognizes the significant contributions that Leah Wilson made during her tenure, particularly in the concerted effort to recognize and address racial disparities in the discipline system.”
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