Law Professor Sends School-Wide Email Bitching About Grads Who Fail The Bar Exam

This law professor is absolutely enraged about the number of his former students who fail the bar exam.

Graduation season is upon us, which means that bar exam craziness will soon follow in its wake. In fact, it seems like that incredibly uneasy time may already be here. Law professors are usually there to support their former students, but at one law school, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

One law professor is absolutely enraged about the number of his former students who continually fail the bar exam. He’s so angry, in fact, that he sent out a school-wide email to vent about the situation. His message probably could have been evaluated for its overly harsh tone before being sent out.

We received an email about it from someone who may or may not be another professor at the same law school, with the following subject line: “This is how professors at [X Law School] treat their bar takers.”

Which law school are we talking about, and what did the angry professor say?

The email in question was sent out last week by Professor Mark Summers of Barry Law School. This email was particularly painful to read. In fact, we’re going to double dare you not to cringe while reading it:

As a member of the law faculty, I am deeply disturbed by reports that some of you have not taken seriously the bar preparation courses. That was also the attitude of the February bar takers, and the results speak for themselves. Unlike the 38% who did not pass in February, you still have a chance to avoid failing the July exam if you apply yourself during your bar preparation course. This will require six weeks of hard work and dedication. Before you decide NOT to make that commitment, ask yourselves these questions:

1. Am I not willing to work hard for six weeks to achieve something to which I have dedicated the last three years of my life?

2. Given the amount of money I have spent on law school, how can I justify not taking the bar exam seriously?

3. Do I really want to put my legal career on hold for a year or more if I fail the bar exam and do I really think the chances of passing are better the second time around?

4. Would I want to be represented by a lawyer who had so little self-respect that she didn’t give her full effort to passing the bar exam?

Think about it.

Sponsored

Ouch. That last point really stings.

While we agree that people should care deeply about passing the bar exam, this email wasn’t a good way to instill confidence in students’ minds. Instead, it just makes the sender seem like a giant douche.

Sponsored