Bar Exams

The Bar Exam: A Recovery Guide

There is a feeling by people who have never taken the bar exam that once you have, life is much better. In the famous words of Justice Alito, “Not true.”

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Damn you, bar exam!

Damn you, bar exam!

This week is the bar exam. Love it or hate it (and I’m on record as hating it), there is a feeling by people who have never taken it that once you have, life is much better. In the famous words of Justice Alito, “Not true.”

Once you walk out of the bar exam, the mixed feelings begin. There is the relief, but also the adrenaline crash. There is the attempt to be optimistic, but also the terror that you missed something big. There is the rethinking of answers, and the rethinking of the rethinking. There’s the desire to celebrate, but not too much because you don’t want to jinx the results. It is not the best of times until the bar releases the results and you see you have passed.

People avoid thinking about the bar exam with temporary distractions, such as work or bar trips. I’m not opposed to bar trips (I even took one myself), and I’m not opposed to work (I even had a real job once myself), but they do not stop the anxiety and panic from setting in. You can’t work 24/7, no matter what the senior partners in Biglaw might tell you.

Instead, let’s address what you should do when you start to think about it.

First, think about everything you think you did wrong and how you could possibly change it. Daydream about time travel.

Just kidding. Don’t do this! You can’t change what you wrote, and, judging by what happens when I review exams with students, you don’t remember very well what you wrote anyway. You aren’t in the same position as the test grader, and when your brain is in catastrophe mode you’re going to think the very worst about what you did. This, the favorite obsessive pastime of the bar exam survivor, is a waste of time, causing needless worry (because worry is always needless). Let’s call this pastime THE OBSESSING.

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Instead, restore the positive habits you abandoned during bar study.

  1. If exercise was the first thing you threw out the window (wrongfully, in my opinion), then reintegrate it back into your life. It will help with calming THE OBSESSING and make you feel better about yourself.
  2. If you sacrificed healthy food for a steady diet of bread, water, and wine, then now is the time to start expanding your culinary repertoire. There are numerous websites out there discussing stress-reducing foods. I realize yesterday was National Margarita Day, but alcohol is probably not a stress- reducing food. It might quiet THE OBSESSING that night, but THE OBSESSING will return double in the morning.
  3. Before the bar exam, did you have a significant other or family? If so, now is the time to reintroduce yourself to them. Family, significant others, and friends are a good way to remember you are a well-rounded person, not just a number on the bar exam.
  4. Did you have a hobby before the bar exam, such as being an expert juggler or a concert pianist? Time to take up those hobbies again. You have talents that predate the bar exam, and will continue to be there at your fingertips.
  5. Take up a new hobby. Now is a great time to change that bar focus into something else. Always wanted to learn another language? Perfect time for it. Always wanted to take up golf? Well, depending on the weather, why not now? Building new and different skills not only is a good way to channel energy, but, if you are unemployed, will make an interesting story for the job interview.
  6. Prepare for success. Most people taking the bar, in the grip of fear, prepare for the worst. You have to visualize your own success. If you are in the midst of a job search, start planning your lines of attack for when you pass the bar, updating your résumé and targeting firms. If you are already gainfully (or even painfully) employed, start making plans for the swearing in ceremony and life at the firm after becoming a member of the bar.
  7. Pamper yourself, at least for a while. You’ve just engaged in a mental marathon. Yes, a bar trip is a good way to recover from that. It helps reframe this time in your life as a fond memory of travels. However, you’ll still need to do other things on this list to continue your focus away from bar results. No time or money for a bar trip? A spa day works, or some other relaxing activities.
  8. As the bar results approach, your anxiety and tension will increase. Make up your mind not to keep visiting the announcement page. Do not repeatedly hit the “page refresh” button like you did waiting for your law school grades or like you’re tracking an Amazon delivery. If the results are posted, breathe, and then look once for your name. Don’t keep checking every day to make sure there wasn’t a mistake. Do not look for the names of your friends or “enemies.” Your friends will likely not appreciate you noticing the absence of their names on the list. As for your enemies, consider the famous quote from Buddha: “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”

In the long run, regardless of the results, remember the bar exam does not define you as a human being. It is a barrier to entry into this learned profession. Not passing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be a lawyer. Likewise, passing does not mean you are skilled at the practice of law.

Good luck to those taking the bar exam right now. You can do it.

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LawProfBlawg is an anonymous professor at a top 100 law school. You can see more of his musings here and on Twitter (@lawprofblawg). Email him at lawprofblawg@gmail.com.

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