Shhhhh, bar exam in progress

Applicants with dreams of becoming Indiana lawyers are sitting for the bar exam Tuesday and Wednesday at the Indiana Convention Center, marking the first time the July test has been given in-person since 2019.

Names of the applicants sitting for the bar are confidential, but one person who apparently is in Indianapolis taking the exam is Nathan Blake. Identifying himself as a resident of Cincinnati, Blake gained recognition on Twitter when he complained about not being allowed to sit for the Hoosier bar because of “insufficient ridges” on his fingerprints.

According to Bradley Skolnik, executive director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Legal Education, applicants for the bar in Indiana, and many other states, are required to provide their fingerprints for a criminal background check. Blake’s tweet got nearly 100,000 likes and drew the attention of Above the Law and Bloomberg Law.

Citing confidentiality, Skolnik would not comment on the matter. However, he said his team tries to remove hurdles so applicants have the “most positive experience possible in applying for the bar” because it is a stressful time.

On July 21, Blake gave the update that he was granted permission to sit for the Indiana bar exam. He said he was thankful for the support and asked that folks “let the issue rest.” He said he was focused on catching up on studying.

The Indiana Board of Law Examiners “was kind and thoughtful enough to reconsider their decision,” Blake tweeted on July 22. “I’m incredibly thankful for their decision, and for the kindness I’ve received from the staff of the BLE.”

Skolnik did not have an exact count for the July 2022 bar, but 400 to 500 individuals have sat for previous July exams. Since July 2021, Indiana has used the Uniform Bar Exam, which allows successful applicants the opportunity to transfer their law license to another UBE state.

Also, the test is returning to the convention center in downtown Indianapolis.

In the past, when the convention center was unavailable, the exam has been administered at a venue in Carmel. Skolnik remembered one occasion when the exam was moved from the center because the test conflicted with the setup for the national gaming convention Gen Con.

Skolnik said the deadlines in the application process are “abundantly clear.”

Blake acknowledged that in another tweet posted July 22.

“The fact is, I should have done my fingerprints earlier to account for possible errors, which was a mistake,” Blake tweeted. “I was initially denied because the defective set of prints were under the wire, which was not an abuse of discretion on the part of Indiana.”