The Twice Yearly Period of Celebration/Mourning

A moment of silence. California Bar Results came out last Friday. I received a rush of emails on Saturday from candidates whose searches were on hold pending Bar passage. They are the happy ones! I wish that passing the Bar guaranteed them their dream legal position. Now, the work begins to get that offer! The market is tight but not impossible. Having the Bar is huge for out-of-staters.

I wonder about the silence coming from the other candidates who were also waiting for Bar results. Twice a year, I wait for a few days… then gingerly check their names against the “pass list.” Not passing the Bar can floor people. It takes time to regroup and come to terms with the implications. My heart goes out to these folks. It can be a pivotal moment in some one’s life.

I always want to tell these candidates about stories of persistence and success. I want to remind them that different Bar prep programs work for different people. One of the best and most admired stories of Bar Passage Success came from an out of state attorney with whom I worked as an associate. I watched him go through the painful process of studying and barely missing the pass cutoff two or three times. He never lost his sense of humor. We were scheduling an event and checking his availability. When questioned whether he would be busy on a certain day a few months away, he gleefully exclaimed, “No problem, that’s my Bar Study off-season.”

His survival skills and confidence amazed me. And fortunately, he passed the next time around. What a great party we had for him a few years back around this time in May.

Congrats to many and do not despair if you were disappointed!