Although the title of this post makes me sound like some kind of bar exam-taking superstar, I am not. And that’s a good thing, because that means you can do it too! 😉 First, I’m going to be a little transparent and give you some context for how I even found myself in the situation of studying for a bar exam while working full-time and applying to jobs. Then, I’ll share 20 things I did that worked for me over a series of four blog posts!
Up first, some background . . .
I graduated law school in May 2015, sat for the Maryland Bar exam in July 2015, and found out in November 2015 that I passed the bar exam — hallelujah!!! But, there was a catch — I scored a 130 on the Multistate Bar Examination (“MBE”) section, and needed at least a 133 to waive into the District of Columbia Bar.
So, so, SO close . . . and yet so far.
On the bright side, that means I did very well on the written portion of the exam, which makes sense because that is where I spent most of my attention while studying (the writing portion was worth 60% for Maryland’s bar exam). But notwithstanding that I had indeed passed a bar exam on the first try, did very well on the written portion, would be sworn in as an attorney the same year I graduated law school, and already had a job where my Maryland law license was just fine (thank you, Lord!), I still felt embarrassed because of my shortcoming on the MBE and inability to put “DC Bar eligible” on my resume.
I didn’t want anyone to know.
So, I put the notification letter with the MBE score far out of my sight (and I mean far — I still don’t know where it is more than three years later). I figured I would just keep working with the federal government, which does not require its attorneys to be licensed in any particular state (because we’re practicing federal law and not state law — we just need to be licensed in at least one U.S. jurisdiction), and waive in to the DC Bar regardless of my MBE score after practicing for five years (the only other way to waive in to the DC Bar if your MBE score is not high enough).
Fast forward to April 2017. My two-year clerkship was set to end in September 2017 and it was unclear whether I would have a job in federal government. It was also unclear if I would have a job in Maryland by the end of my clerkship, and because I wasn’t DC Bar eligible, my job options were drastically more limited. I talked to an alumni career counselor at my alma mater (thanks for everything, Keri!! :)) and she suggested I sit for the DC Bar and get myself a portable Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) score.
“Take another bar exam?!,” I thought.
“But it’s already April! I’m not even registered! I’m not mentally ready! I’m working full-time! I’m applying for jobs! I’m starting a new romantic relationship! I’m volunteering on the church pastor search committee, a big responsibility, and with a nonprofit organization! I need to save my money in case I don’t have a job by September, I don’t want to shell out a couple more thousand dollars to register and take another bar prep course!
Also, I just plain don’t wanna!!!”
I mean, right?! Who wants to just take a bar exam again?!
But I tell you what — I am actually glad I did. The experience gave me a great testimony to share with you and others who need encouragement as they study for the bar exam, and encouraged me in my ability to overcome obstacles and limiting beliefs with the help of God’s grace and wisdom. And I think that was God’s plan all along — I took the bar exam because I wasn’t sure what my job options would be like, but, in August 2017, a month before I was set to leave my job in government with no new job lined up, my position was converted to a permanent position AND I received a promotion!!! #GiveHimSomePraise!! In November 2017, I found out that I passed the DC Bar AND had a UBE score high enough to waive into ANY of the UBE jurisdictions (more than a 280)!! No more bar exams for me! #GiveHimSomeMorePraise!!!
So, it looks like I would have been fine not taking the bar exam again and could have avoided months of extra work if I hadn’t taken the bar exam again — but if I had known how my situation would have worked out, I would not have gone through this journey that I am now able to share with you, and I would have never started my FREE online community/mobile app for Christian women lawyers, Bar exam takers, and law students, that includes a free Bar exam resource library, Grace for the Grind® Career Mastermind, or my Christian Bar exam coaching program, Blessed & Barred® Bar Exam Success System.
And now what you’ve really been waiting to read, haha . . . 20 ways I passed the bar exam while working full-time, applying (and interviewing) for jobs, and having a social life. Well, five ways in this post because I am splitting up the 20 tips into four blog posts!
Disclaimer: Most of these tips are geared toward people who have taken a Bar exam before, so use your judgment in which tips you decide to follow, but some tips are universal and apply to first-time bar-takers as well.
Now, lets dig in (in no particular order)!
1. I made the most of my energy levels and studied in the morning before I was tired from working an 8+ hour day.
I think this made a huge difference for me. It’s already hard enough finding time to study, let alone finding the physical and mental energy to do so. By studying in the morning, I was able to get some study time in while my energy levels were high and it was easier for me to focus because I wasn’t fatigued from analyzing something all day, making hard decisions, etc. Studying in the morning also allowed me to start my day feeling good knowing that if I ended up having to work late or had a particularly busy day at work or fell asleep when I got home, I got some studying in. Early morning hours also tend to have less distractions — you probably receive less text messages, phone calls, social media notifications, etc. at 5 a.m. than you do at 7 p.m. Less distractions means more quality studying! I started waking up at 5 a.m. to fit in two hours of study time before getting ready to go to work at 7:30 a.m. (I left 30 minutes free in my morning to pray, read a Bible devotional, and journal). I also usually studied after I got home from work, but occasionally I’d miss an evening of studying because of dinner plans, a meeting, being tired from the day, etc. If mornings don’t work well for you, then find another time that does. But don’t be scared of the early morning — you get used to it after awhile! 🙂
2. I listened to bar review lectures while I got ready for work, did chores, went for an evening walk, etc.
Pairing movement with listening helped me stay more focused and feel less bored than being stuck sitting down for all study activities. Granted, I couldn’t take notes while listening and doing something else, but at least hearing the material and jogging your memory of what you read is better than nothing! Moreover, I listened to lectures to glean nuggets of wisdom from the lecturer (how to approach questions, issues that typically come up in subject area, most tested issues, etc.) rather than trying to learn the law from the lecture. I learned the law from doing Tip No. 3.
3. I went with a bar prep company (BarMax)* that had an app so I could carry around a database of practice questions on my iPad or phone (#TeamAndroid) and do practice questions on the go.
Three questions here, four questions there add up to approximately 28 to 35 questions/week, which is more than 100+ practice questions a month just riding around on the train on the way to and from work (or whenever else you can squeeze in a practice question or two). Small wins add up to big wins, so any bit of practice you can do is better than none at all! Plus, doing even three questions and reading the answers for them made me feel productive even when I wasn’t in full “study mode.” *NOTE: This is my referral link which will get you 15% OFF a BarMax UBE Review Course! You can read more about why I recommend BarMax here.
4. I cut out the fluff and did not do as much stuff studying for the bar the second time around as I did the first time — I didn’t take notes, didn’t outline, and didn’t write out full practice essays.
Of course if this is your first time studying for a bar exam then I HIGHLY recommend you do the above, but if you are already familiar with the subjects tested on the bar exam and you have limited time to study, then it is in your best interest to cut out anything extra and focus on practicing applying the law and identifying how the exam asks questions, how model answers are structured, etc.
For me, I did very well on the writing portion of the bar exam in 2015 and my full-time job as an attorney is primarily writing decisions for judges, so I already know how to write a bar exam essay and felt very comfortable doing that. Thus, I did not spend my limited time doing something I already knew how to do well. However, I did still answer practice essays in quick outline form to test myself and read over sample answers — I needed to make sure I understood the structure of the answers so I would write essays that picked up points! But I didn’t spend hours writing full out essay answers. This freed me up to focus more on MBE practice questions, which is the area I personally needed to work on. For anyone taking a subsequent bar exam, you will have to make the determination of what you can safely cut out (if you can cut anything out).
But if you did not score well on the writing portion of the exam, THEN YOU DO NEED TO WRITE OUT FULL PRACTICE ESSAYS AND MPTs AND NOT JUST OUTLINE THEM! 🙂 If you are interested in improving your Bar exam legal writing, learn more about the Blessed & Barred® Bar Exam Success System that includes a Bar Exam Writing Workshop Series on essays and MPTs taught by me, my Bar Exam Legal Writing Checklist so you can score more points on every essay & MPT, and more!
5. I learned the legal rules from reading sample essay answers, doing practice MBE questions, and reading all the explanations for the practice MBE questions, which show how the rules are applied.
While preparing and re-reading written outlines was helpful for me the first time I studied for the bar, I did not do that the second time for two main reasons; 1) I had about 20-24 hours/week to study while working v. 40+ hours to study the summer after graduation, so I had to think of things to cut out so I could maximize my time, and 2) I already had exposure to most of the subjects from law school and from previously studying for a bar exam just two years before. If you are in a similar position, then consider using this (reading sample essay answers, doing practice MBE questions, and reading all the explanations for the practice MBE questions) as your primary method of refreshing your knowledge of the law — but if you don’t know what the law is, then you probably shouldn’t skip out on learning it through outlines!
If you’re unsure how to learn the law or what to even look for while you’re studying, we cover that in detail in the Strategize Your Studying module of the Blessed & Barred® Bar Exam Success System.
Alrighty, those are the five tips for this blog post. As I mentioned before, some of these are not for everybody and that is OK! Don’t take my word as authority — pray about it, assess your knowledge levels, and see what would work for you.
Read Part 2 with the next set of five ways I successfully studied for the bar exam while working full-time, applying and interviewing for jobs, and having a social life!
Grace for the Grind® Career Mastermind is a FREE private online community for Christian women lawyers, Bar exam takers, and law students who want less stress and more of God’s grace for the professional grind. You can join for free and access our Bar exam webinar replays and Bar Exam Resource Library at https://app.graceforthegrind.com!
