Unfortunately for me, it is that time of the year again.
That time when the newly minted JDs that have been working for me throughout law school begin to collectively freak out when they realize the mythical bar exam they have been hearing about for the past three years is now only a few months away. You know, that little test that determines whether the $100,000+ in student loans they are now saddled with is actually worth it.
It starts harmless enough.
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One by one, they file in and assure me they will be able to seamlessly balance the rigors of studying with those of their office responsibilities. And for the first few weeks or so, they are mostly right.
But then BARBRI, or whichever bar exam prep course is most popular these days, gives the first MBE practice exam to its enrollees. You likely remember the exam. It is the one they give a couple of weeks too early that’s designed to both demoralize students and convince course enrollees that extra couple of thousand dollars they spent on the prep course is really necessary.
And after that exam, my employees begin to file through my office for a second time. This time they are noticeably more pessimistic about their prospects of passing the bar and in their estimation of the number of work hours they think they can reasonable manage on top of their studies.
Shortly after that second round in my office, the speed at which their assignments used to be completed slows down. Any memos they submit begin to strike the tone of a response to a Multistate Essay Exam question. And oddly enough, mentions of issues pertaining to civil procedure or constitutional law begin to emerge in their work product were they are wholly unwarranted.
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Ah, yes, the tell tale signs of Bar Exam Brain have set in.
At that moment, I generally encourage my employees to take as much time as they need to study while ensuring them their jobs will be waiting for them when they return on the other side of the exam. And sadly for me, I know I need to request a password reset from Westlaw because I am in for a few weeks of actually doing my own legal research. Oh, the horror!
For any of my similarly positioned colleagues dealing with the impact of Bar Exam Brain on their department, I would encourage them to let their team prepare for the bar exam guilt free and roll up their sleeves and get ready to reacquaint themselves with LexisNexis.
I am not going to sugarcoat it for you. It is going to be a rough couple of months. Conducting your own research and drafting your own legal memos is no easy task. But compared to what your poor team members are faced with, dealing with the most important examination of their lives, I suppose it is a fair trade off.
Besides, if your colleagues who are mere months away from successfully joining the bar have decided to forgo firm life for the in-house life, we ought to cut them a little slack.
So to those newly minted in-house JDs nationwide preparing for the bar, I wish you the best of luck. You have likely heard it a thousand times, but I will tell you once more, you will be fine. And my colleagues and I look forward to eagerly welcoming you back soon!
Stephen R. Williams is in-house counsel with a multi-facility hospital network in the Midwest. His column focuses on a little talked about area of the in-house life, management. You can reach Stephen at [email protected].