CHAPTER 10 The Bar Exam

Don't fail it.

Whether you have a job at the time of the exam or not: pass it.

Seriously. If you fail it, your best-case scenario is feeling and looking terrible. Maybe you pass it the second time, but it takes you six months to recover and it's hell getting there.

Worst case is that you lose your job.

Finishing law school is a tremendous accomplishment. If you aren't tired at the end of it, maybe you didn't try hard enough or you are just as lot smarter than us. (It's a low bar. We know.)

Don't take the foot off the gas, join a rock band and start relaxing like Jason did. He almost didn't pass the bar exam according to his practice tests.

Alex was in a must-pass situation clerking for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Of the 12 clerks on the court that year, only Alex and one other clerk had to take the Wisconsin Bar, having attended out-of-state law schools, so failure would have been very public. Plus, he had a kid on the way. Had to pass. And he did. Be like Alex.

Push yourself to pass the test. Take whatever bar review class is relevant. Then take some time off before work to recuperate.

Obviously, each state has a different hurdle for passing, but states like California and New York have really hard tests. Jason still has nightmares of showing up late to the California bar exam.

That is all. Wait? Didn't think a book could have a chapter this short? Think again. We didn't want this message to get lost in the weeds.

Again: don't fail the bar exam. Please.

(P.S. Statistically speaking, some of you will fail the bar exam. If you do, mourn for a short period of time, figure out what went wrong, and pass it on the second attempt. Also consider what state you are taking it in. Maybe there is an easier state?)