Law grads celebrate passing bar exam – but there’s something wrong with picture

Smiling at the camera, a group of law graduates pose with their arms around each other as they celebrate being admitted to the bar.

But there’s something wrong with this picture.

The image, posted on Instagram by a New Zealand law firm, was taken after the young grads passed the challenging bar examination.

And if you look closely at it, you can see something isn’t quite right – with some of the group’s hands apparently clasping at thin air.

This is because the grads – all above the legal drinking age – had been holding champagne glasses when the picture was taken.

However, the glasses were edited out of the image by the firm, Simpson Grierson, before it was uploaded to the social media site.

The edit was made in a bid to ensure the group’s achievements were the centre of attention, according to the New Zealand Herald.

The firm reportedly wanted to make the post "all about" the graduates’ admission to the bar and "how important it is for them".

The post, which has since been removed and replaced with a different image, read: "Congratulations to our 2018 law graduates.

"This talented bunch was recently admitted to the bar — keep up the good work team."

After the digital edit was spotted, human resources consultant Poncho Rivera-Pavon, who is in charge of law graduates and summer clerks for Simpson Grierson, explained why it had been made.

He told Newsroom: "We’re very aware of the media sometimes misconstruing things and making it look like it’s all about the young lawyers having a drink at work.

"We wanted to make it all about their admission to the bar and how important it is for them, so we decided to remove the glasses."

A Simpson Grierson spokesman said the glasses were taken out so the focus would be on the graduates’ "awesome milestone".

Speaking to Stuff, the spokesman added that the firm was "sorry for any unwanted attention" that the graduates had since received.

The new picture, which replaced the digitally altered snap, shows the group smiling widely while gathered around a sofa.

Founded in 1887, Simpson Grierson has hundreds of employees based at offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

It is ranked among the top legal firms in New Zealand.

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