Bar Exam Pass Rates ...

[User 11148]

As we continue to wrestle with whether or not Donald Trump cheats at golf, I thought we might explore bar exam pass rates. I understand the District of Columbia bar exam used to be an absolute ass-kicker. How does it compare to New Hampshire?

 

[da man]

This means something...

 

[YankeeFan]

Hillary failed the D.C. Bar!!

It's the only reason she agreed to move to Arkansas.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Michelle Obama failed the Illinois bar.

 

[Dick Whitman]

No word on if Rosalynn Carter ever took the bar.

 

[poindexter]

Betty Ford was very good at the bar.

 

[Dick Whitman]

When I walked out, I was convinced I had failed it. Absolutely convinced of it. By the time the results came, though, I had been tipped off that I had likely passed it by the Character and Fitness Committee guy that I had to meet with.

Lesson: If you think you will be impatient to find out your bar exam results, exhibit an extended proclivity for alcohol abuse. It's a slow play, but worth it in the end.

 

[Riptide]

Donald Trump has his hand on his daughter's knee under the bar. #StarmanNewsWireReport

 

[justgladtobehere]

Is this a real question? I heard the DC bar was easy, but most people working in DC take a state's exam and waive in. I believe DC allows people who passed any bar exam to work in DC.

Also, exam pass rates can be misleading. When I looked a while back, California was considered difficult based on its pass rate. However, the good schools did fine. It was a bunch of ****ty and/or unaccredited schools that dragged down the passage rate.

 

[da man]

Is this a real question? I heard the DC bar was easy, but most people working in DC take a state's exam and waive in. I believe DC allows people who passed any bar exam to work in DC.

Also, exam pass rates can be misleading. When I looked a while back, California was considered difficult based on its pass rate. However, the good schools did fine. It was a bunch of ****ty and/or unaccredited schools that dragged down the passage rate.

You mean, like Yale?

 

[Dick Whitman]

As I understand it, she took the D.C. exam on a bit of a whim, right, without studying? There are sections that are identical across states, but every state also has its own peculiarities that get tested. It's honestly not easy and if you don't study, you will absolutely fail. Law school alone will not prepare you for it, I don't think. At least not my law school. Certainly not Yale. Hardly anyone even practices law who graduates from Yale. I know there are some lower-tier schools that are essentially bar prep factories.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

1.2 million lawyers in this country, how hard can it be?

 

[Baron Scicluna]

1.2 million lawyers in this country, how hard can it be?

Well for some, it takes them six times.

 

[JohnHammond]

Hillary at least bested JFK Jr., Pete Wilson, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Benjamin Cardozo's results.

 

[User 11148]

Who is this "she" of whom y'all speak?

 

[Jake_Taylor]

Lena Dunham, I would assume.

 

[heyabbott]

As I understand it, she took the D.C. exam on a bit of a whim, right, without studying? There are sections that are identical across states, but every state also has its own peculiarities that get tested. It's honestly not easy and if you don't study, you will absolutely fail. Law school alone will not prepare you for it, I don't think. At least not my law school. Certainly not Yale. Hardly anyone even practices law who graduates from Yale. I know there are some lower-tier schools that are essentially bar prep factories.

I doubt Hillary Rodham Clinton has ever done anything on a whim.

 

[qtlaw]

Upside, you pass once, never have to take it again.

Downside, you fail, you have to wait another 3 mos to retake and wait another 6 mos for results; so you've lost a year.

Major motivation to pass the first time. (Which fortunately I did.)

Yes, in California the passage rate is driven lower by those in what are considered "lower-tier" schools, but if they want to try, why not? And I've seen that quality of school does not necessarily indicate legal ability. I'm just glad I passed and never had to retake (though I have recurring dreams of just that!)

 

[JohnHammond]

Just don't practice in Louisiana so you can avoid taking the bar exam, or at least the Civil Code portion.

 

[Webster]

I decided to take the NY Bar exam without studying any of the NY state specific stuff. It's not uncommon at all for people to something like that and fail their secondary state. I was fortunate enough to do well enough on the multistate that, for resources reasons, they didn't even grade my NY essays.