failed the bar 3x...

[Anonymous]

my niece has failed the bar 3 x... 2x in new york and 1x in massachusetts. she has been unemployed since law school graduation in 2013. any advice on what to make of this/what she should do? should she still even try to practice law? she went to a bad law school and has huge debt.

[Anonymous]

Does she want to practice law?

The bar exam is a bitch for everyone.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on why she is having trouble passing the exam. In most cases it's probably due to anxiety. Has she consulted with a psychologist? This could help her determine where the problem lies. Does she perhaps feel ambivalent about law as a career?

[Anonymous]

She needs to find a scientist with a time machine so she can go back and reverse some poor decisions when young.

Either that or flee the country. She has few good options at this stage. This is a country that is increasingly designed to screw anyone that makes a mistake, especially if they are young and poor.

[Anonymous]

How bad was her law school and did she do okay in her classes there? Does she have any experience from internships, clinics or summer clerkships while in law school? How did dhe do in those applied settings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my niece has failed the bar 3 x... 2x in new york and 1x in massachusetts. she has been unemployed since law school graduation in 2013. any advice on what to make of this/what she should do? should she still even try to practice law? she went to a bad law school and has huge debt.

NY, like CA, is typically one of the harder bar exams because so many people want to practice there, so I wouldn't take failing NY twice as that much of a sign. However, she went to a "bad law school" which might mean that she didn't have the grades to get into a good one. You also don't mention how she did at law school.

The real question is why she did it. Does she really want to be a lawyer? At this point she isn't going to get a BigLaw job, so she needs to be looking at alternatives, anyway.

There are lots of fields out there where the logical thought process taught in law school is useful, and a knowledge of the law would be helpful. She should consider something like that rather than pushing the law career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my niece has failed the bar 3 x... 2x in new york and 1x in massachusetts. she has been unemployed since law school graduation in 2013. any advice on what to make of this/what she should do? should she still even try to practice law? she went to a bad law school and has huge debt.

NY, like CA, is typically one of the harder bar exams because so many people want to practice there, so I wouldn't take failing NY twice as that much of a sign. However, she went to a "bad law school" which might mean that she didn't have the grades to get into a good one. You also don't mention how she did at law school.

The real question is why she did it. Does she really want to be a lawyer? At this point she isn't going to get a BigLaw job, so she needs to be looking at alternatives, anyway.

There are lots of fields out there where the logical thought process taught in law school is useful, and a knowledge of the law would be helpful. She should consider something like that rather than pushing the law career.

Any suggestions re those fields? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She needs to find a scientist with a time machine so she can go back and reverse some poor decisions when young.

Either that or flee the country. She has few good options at this stage. This is a country that is increasingly designed to screw anyone that makes a mistake, especially if they are young and poor.

This is the most useless post I have ever seen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How bad was her law school and did she do okay in her classes there? Does she have any experience from internships, clinics or summer clerkships while in law school? How did dhe do in those applied settings?

Her law school is ranked above 100 but less than 75. She did only ok there -- honestly a lot of Bs and Cs. She has some research jobs but nothing really significant. I think she can be a bit lazy and that combined with a bad test taker is not a good mix. She has not had full time employment since graduation. Worked as a law clerk at a firm for a year but was let go after failing the second bar exam. Has been unemployed for about a year now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She needs to find a scientist with a time machine so she can go back and reverse some poor decisions when young.

Either that or flee the country. She has few good options at this stage. This is a country that is increasingly designed to screw anyone that makes a mistake, especially if they are young and poor.

This is the most useless post I have ever seen.

Not to mention, completely untrue. She has few "good options?" She has her entire life ahead of her, you fool! And the country is not "designed" in any way. It is what you make of it. Sorry you're so bitter; you could probably benefit from a few talk therapy sessions yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How bad was her law school and did she do okay in her classes there? Does she have any experience from internships, clinics or summer clerkships while in law school? How did dhe do in those applied settings?

Her law school is ranked above 100 but less than 75. She did only ok there -- honestly a lot of Bs and Cs. She has some research jobs but nothing really significant. I think she can be a bit lazy and that combined with a bad test taker is not a good mix. She has not had full time employment since graduation. Worked as a law clerk at a firm for a year but was let go after failing the second bar exam. Has been unemployed for about a year now.

Where does she live? If she is in the DC area, going into the contracts field is a good alternative. Lots of government contractors need government contracts officers, administrators, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How bad was her law school and did she do okay in her classes there? Does she have any experience from internships, clinics or summer clerkships while in law school? How did dhe do in those applied settings?

Her law school is ranked above 100 but less than 75. She did only ok there -- honestly a lot of Bs and Cs. She has some research jobs but nothing really significant. I think she can be a bit lazy and that combined with a bad test taker is not a good mix. She has not had full time employment since graduation. Worked as a law clerk at a firm for a year but was let go after failing the second bar exam. Has been unemployed for about a year now.

With this additional information I think she needs to seriously consider other career options. The law market isn't that strong for b/c students at even top 20 law schools. Unless she really loves law and is super motivated she isn't likely to succeed as a lawyer, even if she eventually passes the bar.

[Anonymous]

I once heard Massechusetts referred to as Passechusetts. .

[Anonymous]

agree that she will have trouble getting a legal job with that info. What about something where a law degree might be helpful- like working for a compliance department of a large company?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I once heard Massechusetts referred to as Passechusetts. .

did you also hear that Massachusetts is spelled Massachusetts?