Ontario Bar Indices Blog Series

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2020-2021 Ontario Bar Indexing Series

In the upcoming weeks, I aim to provide you with an insight into our process of creating an index for the Ontario bar exams. Having personally been involved in producing at least 6 complete sets of indices, I can share that three key ingredients are vital to ensure everything comes together seamlessly.

  1. Team Members: Having reliable and competent team members is crucial to the success of the indexing process. Although it can be time-consuming to vet and select candidates, we are fortunate to have access to a pool of highly talented individuals. As our company tutors hundreds of law students every year, we can choose team members from various universities. For example, this year, one of our team members hails from NYU, while previous years have seen students from UofT, Ottawa, and McGill as part of the same team.


  3. Leadership & Consistency: In addition to selecting competent team members, effective leadership is necessary to ensure everyone works together harmoniously. With team members being law graduates and often having differing opinions, it is crucial to avoid conflicts that could hamper the indexing process. Over the past 5 years, I have managed our indexing group, and for the last three years, we have brought in a practising lawyer and former indexing group member to co-lead the team. This leadership duo brings extensive experience, promptly addressing any concerns the team may have. We hold regular meetings to discuss best practices and provide answers to questions. Furthermore, daily communication through various social media channels ensures uniformity in applying standard rules throughout the index.


  5. Solid Base: A reliable index is built on a solid base of terms. Over the years, we have significantly expanded the number of terms in our index, improving its accuracy and relevance. It took time to refine the base, ensuring that outdated terms were removed, and detailed instructions were established for team members to follow. This ensures constant clean-up of old terms no longer found in the materials and additions to strengthen existing and newly added sections of the index. Any changes to the index, whether deletions or additions, undergo a final review from either myself or the other lawyer on our team.

I hope you found this first installment of the Bar Indexing Series enjoyable. Stay tuned for the next piece, which I will be writing soon!

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