Marketability and bar membership

In this challenging market, it definitely helps your marketability if you are licensed in the state you are seeking employment in. If you are not currently licensed in that state, firms will take you more seriously if you at least register to sit for the relevant state’s bar exam or begin the process of waiving into that state’s bar via reciprocity (if this is applicable).

In less competitive geographic areas, bar membership may not be as big of an issue, especially if you have a strong academic background and solid law firm experience. Similarly, if you are an attorney with expertise in a stable or growing practice area, you may find that you are able to get interviews without being currently licensed in that state. For example, in California, most firms are now requiring applicants to be licensed with the State Bar of California. I have seen some firms, however, make an exception to this general rule if they come across a stellar candidate in a growing practice area like bankruptcy or patent prosecution.

It’s About That Time…

It is once again that time of the year when I bow my head down and take a short moment of silence for the downtrodden, the weary, the desperate, the July Bar examinee. Although I have tried to suppress the memory of the dreadful three days when I too suffered through that little test, every time I step into Starbucks some poor schmo hunched over his BarBri books forces me to remember.

What’s funny is, it really wasn’t that bad. Before you scoff, hear me out. Yes, the test is miserable, but, then again, so is law school. We all suffered through three years of that, so surely we can bear three months. What makes BarBri sightings painful for me is how awfully I reacted to the entire experience. I went absolutely ape. Since I was basically in the bottom 10 percent of my law school class in terms of stress, my sudden madness was quite a shock to all my law school friends. I’m sure they wondered what demon possessed me. Recently I’ve even tried to underplay how badly I handled the experience with my friends. They are all nice people, but none of my friends will let me pass my off behavior off as “just a little stressed.” They even wince a little when forced to recall my monster self.

Why on earth did I react that way? Sure, everyone was more than a little stressed, but I took it to a new level. I don’t know anyone else who engaged in extemporaneous bawlings every day or became a full-fledged insomniac. Truth is, I don’t know why I overreacted. What I do know is this: no test on the planet is worth that amount of grief. At base, it’s a TEST. We’ve all had them before. It is longer and there is more on the line, but no one should forget that they have been doing this test-taking thing for a long time. Don’t make it more than it is. Attaching too much significance to the Bar exam will only serve to trip you up.

What’s the worst thing that can happen? Remember, I said no scoffing. Yeah, yeah, you might have to take the darn thing again. Yeah, that stinks. However, I know several people who had to re-take the Bar exam, and they all have “Esquire” following their names now. Some of them even enjoy being attorneys. Above all, remember this. There are a lot of attorneys out there. They can’t all be brilliant (I assure you they are not. As a practicing attorney, I remember frequently feeling compelled to ask to see someone’s Bar card). If they can do it, so can you.

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!