Bar Exams, Biglaw

What Happens To Incoming Biglaw Associates Who Fail The Bar Exam?

Uh-oh! Would they still have jobs with starting salaries of $180K if they failed?

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Pass Fail ExamThe July 2016 administration of the bar exam is next week, and many would-be attorneys are really, really worried about failing the test. After all, bar exam pass rates have plummeted nationwide for the past several administrations of the exam, so they have every reason to be fearful.

But what about those with job offers in hand from prestigious Biglaw firms? Surely those test-takers — typically graduates of elite law schools — can’t be failing the bar exam at as high a rate as those from lower-ranked law schools. But what if they did fail? Would they still have jobs with starting salaries of $180K?

According to a deep dive on this topic conducted by Big Law Business, incoming associates may not have very much to worry about. This may come as somewhat of a surprise, but at most Biglaw firms, there’s leeway as far as bar passage is concerned.

Big Law Business spoke to firm leaders or spokespersons from nine firms — including Littler Mendelson, McGuireWoods, Baker & McKenzie, Nixon Peabody, Sidley Austin, Choate Hall, Willkie Farr, and Reed Smith — but this statement from Larren Nashelsky, chair of Morrison & Foerster, seems to largely represent what happens at most firms:

It is the Firm’s policy to be supportive of attorneys who do not pass the bar exam on the first try by permitting them to take the bar exam a second time in accordance with the Firm’s time off and reimbursement policies for first-time bar takers, subject, however, to the attorney otherwise satisfactorily progressing and the needs of the Department or Practice Group. In the event an attorney does not pass the bar exam on the second try, special approval by the Department and Practice Group will be needed for the attorney to take the exam for the third time.

Biglaw is apparently the land of second chances for bar exam failures. Who knew?

If you failed the bar exam as an incoming first-year Biglaw associate, we’d like to know what your experience was like. Did your firm treat you well and support you as you studied for the next test, or did you feel like an outcast? Please let us know via email.

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Big Law Associates Who Fail the Bar. What Happens to Them? [Big Law Business]

Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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