I went to law school with the intention and understanding that when I came out, I’d be working for a family company as their in-house counsel. But that didn’t happen. Instead, I had to take the bar exam, failed the bar exam, and had to face taking it a second time. I couldn’t figure out how to look for a job while studying for the exam because there just wasn’t enough time in the day to do it all and rest.
About three weeks into studying, I realized I needed to do something or my chances of landing a role after passing the bar would be even slimmer. I’m going to share the following steps I took to search for a job while studying for the bar. And I know it may seem overwhelming to fit this into your already overwhelming bar prep, but searching for a job may also provide a necessary distraction – even if it’s only for 30 minutes a day – that will enable you to get back into bar prep with fresh eyes. [Read more…] about How to Search for a Job While Studying for the Bar
When I first started law school, the bar exam seemed so far away, and then all of a sudden it wasn’t. I was terrified by the process – so terrified, in fact, that I never asked what the admissions process was like.
From the day law school starts, you are inundated with offers from commercial bar prep programs for lower rates, free highlighters, or candy, in return for signing up to use their program. Many of my classmates locked in these specials within the first semester of school and had their payments broken into portions that were then added to their school tuition bill. Half-way through second year, one company had joined forces with my law school to offer their prep program as part of the tuition fee – everyone got it automatically, but you could opt out. 
“You can’t pour from an empty cup.” I don’t know about you, but I heard this phrase quite often during my first year of law school – mostly from people not in law school who were worried about my stress levels. And I can remember thinking, “they just don’t get it. This is the path I chose, and I will always be stressed out and fried.”
The first time I took the bar, I relied heavily on the commercial bar prep programs’ essay questions and graders’ responses to gauge how I was doing. I stayed away from the topics I was having a harder time remembering rules to, and I maybe did three MPT questions total. Now, I did okay on that portion of the bar, but if I had done just a little better, I would have passed. I used the tips below the second time around and passed with flying colors (not kidding – I increased my essay scores by 47 points), and I think if you were to incorporate them into you’re studying, you would also see an increase in score. 
Imagine this: you sit down for the essay section of the bar exam, the timer starts, you open up the exam booklet, and you. cannot. remember. a thing. Your mind is absolutely blank.