July 2008 Laptop Program

NEW YORK BAR EXAM LAPTOP PROGRAM
JULY 29, 2008

The New York State Board of Law Examiners ("Board") is pleased to announce that it has contracted with Examsoft Worldwide, Inc. ("Examsoft") to use its security software product, SofTest, for the July 2008 NYS bar examination. Applicants who elect to participate in the laptop program will be permitted to use their personal laptop computers pre-loaded with the SofTest software to word-process answers to the essay and MPT portions of the bar examination. The SofTest software will block access to notes or any unauthorized programs or information during the course of the examination. The Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) and the New York Multiple Choice portions of the exam are not available on computer.

Registration for the Laptop Program will be available to those applicants who designate their interest in the Laptop Program by checking the appropriate box on their application to sit for the bar examination. Applicants who select the Laptop option on their application will be contacted by e-mail in early May 2008, with the necessary instructions for registering with Examsoft. It is the applicant’s sole responsibility to follow all necessary steps to timely register with Examsoft, download the software, and qualify their laptop for use on the bar examination.

Laptop Applicants are strongly encouraged to carefully review the following information before committing to participation in the Laptop Program for the New York Bar Examination.

1. There are certain risks associated with participation in the Laptop program. The Board of Law Examiners does not own or maintain the software used for the laptop program, and the Board cannot guarantee the performance of the software furnished by the third-party software vendor. In the event of any technical difficulties during the bar examination, applicants must be prepared to immediately start handwriting their essay answers in the answer books provided. Technical difficulties may include hardware or software malfunctions, data saving or retrieval problems, operator errors or the loss of electrical power at the examination facility. If an applicant chooses to continue to use their laptop after experiencing technical difficulties, or after being instructed not to, they do so at their own risk. Laptop candidates should review the "Notice to Participants in the New York Bar Examination Laptop Program", a copy of which is set forth below.

2. Laptop Fee: There is a $100 non-refundable technology fee that applicants will be required to pay directly to the software vendor, which will handle the registration, software download and qualification of the laptops for use on the bar examination.

3. All communications regarding the Laptop Program will be by email only. Applicants will be contacted at the e-mail address they provide on their application to sit for the bar examination. It is the applicant’s responsibility to maintain a valid email address at all times and to keep the Board apprised of any changes to the address.

4. Minimum System Specifications for Laptop Users. Applicants must provide their own laptop computer which must meet or exceed the following minimum system requirements as determined by Examsoft:

· Your own laptop computer
· WE DO NOT SUPPORT APPLE PRODUCTS IN ANY FORM INCLUDING INTEL BASED LAPTOPS RUNNING BOOTCAMP **NO EXCEPTIONS**
· CPU = 450 MHz Pentium III or Industry Equivalent
· Minimum RAM = 256 MB
· Drives = 50 MB of free space
· Operating System = 32-bit Versions of Windows 2000, XP or Vista (Note: We DO NOT expect to support non-North American versions of Microsoft Windows)
· Current Internet Browser = Internet Explorer 6.0 or greater
· Internet access and a Valid Email Address for SofTest installation, Exam Download and Upload
· AOL Users – Version 6.0 or higher is required
· Screen Resolution must be 1024x768 or higher
· Functioning USB port

It is imperative that you make sure you are using a dependable laptop, and that you test the software on the laptop several times prior to examination day.

5. Deadline for Upload of Exam Answers. After the conclusion of the bar exam, applicants will be required to upload their essay answers over the internet to the Examsoft secure site by no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on Tuesday, July 29, 2008. You must be able to connect the laptop you used to take the bar exam to the internet in order to successfully perform the upload of your essay answers. If you do not think that you will be able to comply with this upload deadline then you should NOT participate in the laptop program.

6. Your laptop must have a working USB-drive. Laptop users will also be required to submit their essay answers on a USB-key to be provided by the Board at the exam. Laptop users will not have an opportunity to review their essay answers in a printed form at the exam site.

7. Laptop Testing Sites. The Laptop Program is not available at all test centers, and should demand exceed the number of available laptop seats, a random lottery may be conducted to select participants. At this time, the Board plans to make laptop seats available for the July 2008 Bar Examination at the at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, the City Center in Saratoga Springs, and at a site in Albany and Buffalo (additional laptop sites may be added if necessitated by demand). Laptop applicants will be contacted during the month of May with more detailed information about the location of laptop sites, but generally, applicants will be assigned to a laptop site based on their place of residence (1^st & 2^nd Department residents will be assigned to New York City; 3^rd Department residents including out of state residents will likely be assigned to Albany or Saratoga; and 4^th Department residents assigned to Buffalo).

8. Maintaining Laptop Until Exam Results are Released. Applicants should not re-format their laptop computers or otherwise make any effort to uninstall the Softest software and the exam files from their laptop until after the release of the bar exam results.

9. Renting, Leasing or Borrowing Laptops. If you rent, lease or borrow a laptop for the bar examination, you do so at your own risk, knowing that in the event of technical difficulties, you may not be able to retrieve backup files that may be necessary to recover your essay answers.

10. Technical Questions. Should you have any questions regarding the download and use of the SofTest software please consult the website for Examsoft.

***** Applicants will be asked to read and acknowledge the following "Notice to Participants in the New York Bar Examination Laptop Program" before selecting participation in the laptop program. *****

New York State Board of Law Examiners
NOTICE TO PARTICIPANTS
IN THE NEW YORK BAR EXAMINATION
LAPTOP PROGRAM

This notice is intended to alert participants in the New York bar examination laptop program of the risks involved in such participation, the procedures to be followed in the event problems are encountered, and the potential consequences of problems should they occur.

The New York State Board of Law Examiners ("Board") does not own or maintain the software used for the laptop program. You are required to purchase and download the software directly from the third party software vendor, Examsoft Worldwide, Inc. The Board cannot guarantee the performance of the software furnished by the private software vendor.

You must provide your own computer, and that computer must meet or exceed the minimum system requirements published by the Board and the software vendor on their websites.

Technical difficulties may occur before, during or after the bar examination. Technical difficulties may include hardware or software malfunctions, data saving or retrieval problems, operator errors, upload or download problems, or the loss of electrical power at the examination facility. In the event any technical difficulties occur during the bar examination, you must handwrite your essay answers in the answer books provided and no additional time may be allowed. If you choose to continue to use your computer to write your essay answers after experiencing technical difficulties, or when you have been instructed not to do so, you do so at your own risk.

Following the examination, you must upload your essay answers to the software vendor’s secure web server by 11:59 PM on the essay day of the examination. Failure to do so may result in the disqualification of your answers. If all or any portion of your essay answers are missing due to technical difficulties, you are required to assist the Board in any efforts to retrieve your essay answers including (a) securing your computer and maintaining the security software and files on your computer until after the results of the examination have been released; (b) not modifying or reformatting the hard-drive on your computer; and (c) emailing, uploading or mailing any data or files from your computer that are requested by the software vendor or the Board. If any portion of your essay answers are unrecoverable, only those portions that are recovered will be graded and included in your examination score.

There are risks associated with renting or borrowing a computer for use on the bar examination. If you no longer have access to the computer after the conclusion of the examination, you may not be able to retrieve files which could assist in the recovery of missing portions of your essay answers. Should you choose to rent or borrow a computer, you should arrange to keep the computer until after the results of the examination have been released.