In the weeks since bar results were released, I've interacted with my classmates enough to pick up some gossip about who passed and who didn't. The list seems pretty arbitrary. Many slackers passed; many good students failed. Based on these results, I do not think the bar exam does much to separate the good candidates from the poor.
You might wonder how my bar exam scores panned out. I didn't botch the essays so badly as I thought. All my essays passed, though the scores were thoroughly mediocre. This tends to confirm a theory I've heard more than once: the essay questions are intended to test one's ability to write, not so much one's knowledge of the law. Probably half of what I said about the law in my essays was made up on the spot.
My multiple choice scores were fairly strong, which made for an overall score well within the passing range. My total score was just above the midway point between barely passing and top paper. A popular aphorism goes, "If you passed the bar by more than one point, you studied too hard," but I have no regrets about my hours of preparation. I prefer an aphorism that BarBri puts on some of its t-shirts: "Do it once. Do it right. Never do it again."
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Those Who Can't, Watch
During this long sojourn in the Valley of Unemployment, I have passed some of my time by hanging around the county courthouse and attending whatever trials or hearings I can find. It's always interesting, and I recommend it to anyone who has a weekday free. I have observed a handful of criminal proceedings, but the real drama is in family court. Watching parents fight over child support or--worse--try to prove one another unfit is heartbreaking. Family law would be tough to stomach day in and day out, but I could see myself working in criminal law.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Certificates
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
The Job Market
It's tough out there.
Here is a summary of the applications for law-related jobs I have submitted to date: six to judges, four to private firms, five to federal agencies, and ten to state agencies. About half of those jobs required a law degree; the other half were administrative jobs in legal departments. I have also applied for fourteen jobs outside the legal field. All of my applications were for advertised jobs; I have only cold-called the one or two places I most want to work.
My applications have resulted in five unsuccessful interviews, the last of which was about six weeks ago. I have been politely rejected without an interview six times. Sixteen of my applications got no response at all. That leaves twelve jobs that are either still open or closed recently enough that I am still hoping for a response.
Here is a summary of the applications for law-related jobs I have submitted to date: six to judges, four to private firms, five to federal agencies, and ten to state agencies. About half of those jobs required a law degree; the other half were administrative jobs in legal departments. I have also applied for fourteen jobs outside the legal field. All of my applications were for advertised jobs; I have only cold-called the one or two places I most want to work.
My applications have resulted in five unsuccessful interviews, the last of which was about six weeks ago. I have been politely rejected without an interview six times. Sixteen of my applications got no response at all. That leaves twelve jobs that are either still open or closed recently enough that I am still hoping for a response.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Law School: What's the Big Deal?
I finished law school and passed the bar, so I guess I am now qualified to answer the question I posed when I named this blog three years ago: Is law school really that big a deal?
Nah. The workload does seem to be heavier than the average graduate program, and certain aspects of law school culture do seem calculated to stress students out (the Socratic method, the obsession with class rank, the all-importance of final exams), but one gets inured to these things. I certainly don't think I had it as tough as my acquaintances who went to medical school.
At bottom, law school is like any other academic program. The teachers tell the students what to do. The students who do those things make good grades. The students who cut corners make poor grades. If one doesn't care about one's grades, it is even possible to coast through law school on a bare minimum of effort.
The bar exam, on the other hand, is a very big deal. The bar exam is the reason you shouldn't coast through law school, even if you can. I don't think the risk of failure is significantly higher on the bar exam than it is on the average law school test (about 84% of my graduating class passed the Arkansas bar), but the stakes are terribly high. Failure on a semester test ruins your GPA, but failure on the bar exam practically negates your law degree. The eight weeks prior to the bar exam and the five weeks after were the worst period of sustained stress I have ever experienced.
The conclusion I draw from the last three years is that law school probably doesn't deserve its scary reputation, but the bar exam most assuredly does.
Nah. The workload does seem to be heavier than the average graduate program, and certain aspects of law school culture do seem calculated to stress students out (the Socratic method, the obsession with class rank, the all-importance of final exams), but one gets inured to these things. I certainly don't think I had it as tough as my acquaintances who went to medical school.
At bottom, law school is like any other academic program. The teachers tell the students what to do. The students who do those things make good grades. The students who cut corners make poor grades. If one doesn't care about one's grades, it is even possible to coast through law school on a bare minimum of effort.
The bar exam, on the other hand, is a very big deal. The bar exam is the reason you shouldn't coast through law school, even if you can. I don't think the risk of failure is significantly higher on the bar exam than it is on the average law school test (about 84% of my graduating class passed the Arkansas bar), but the stakes are terribly high. Failure on a semester test ruins your GPA, but failure on the bar exam practically negates your law degree. The eight weeks prior to the bar exam and the five weeks after were the worst period of sustained stress I have ever experienced.
The conclusion I draw from the last three years is that law school probably doesn't deserve its scary reputation, but the bar exam most assuredly does.
Friday, September 9, 2011
It's Official
I just got the receipt for my $125 license fee from the Clerk of the Supreme Court of Arkansas, along with my license number. I am now as legally qualified as the best lawyer in the state to draft your will or represent you in that million dollar slip-and-fall lawsuit.
Friday, September 2, 2011
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