Regrouping After Failng the Bar Exam

By: K.W. Abbott

It is so easy to try to give us Bar Examees who fail the exam a "get back on that horse and try again" pep talk.  Trust me, although the person trying to give you encouragement may mean well, that really does not help anything. After you fail the Bar Exam, the last thing you want to do is think about is taking it again!  Failing the Bar Exam is really a devestating event for a Bar Exam taker. I know no one died . . . I know no one is terminally ill . . .but the Bar Exam experience is very intense and very serious in the life of a law student.  Consequently, a Bar Examinee has every right to be upset, disappointed and devestated  about not being successful.  

Right after you fail the Bar Exam, you must take a step back.  Don't think about the exam. Try to immerse yourself in other things so that you can clear your mind and adjust your attitude and emotions in preparation for getting back on that horse.  Now, if your state has an appeal process, your failing score was within the range of going for an appeal, and you see whereyou can gain points on appeal, then you would not be in a position to take a nice break from thinking about the exam since the appeal process begins rather quickly after the Bar results are released. But for those of you who are not seeking to appeal your Bar Exam score, get away from anything related to the the Bar Exam. Exercise, get lots of rest, and go out and have fun with your friends.  Spend time focusing on everything positive in your life because there is a lot of positive in your life although it may not seem like it right now.

Get a piece of paper.  Make a list of all that is good and positive in your life on one side and all that is not so good on the other side.  I guarantee that although failing the Bar is a big "not so good" thing, it is only one thing.  Do you have family, friends, food, clothing, a place to live, a job, a bike, a car, spending money, a boy friend, activities to participate in, hobbies, special gifts, special talents, etc.?? Dig deep and identify all of your blessings and gifts!  Identifying them and embracing them is all a part of the healing and regrouping process.  You have to get your head straight before you can tackle that exam again.  You have to rejuvenate your confidence, have a positive attitude, and be your biggest cheerleader before going into that exam.  The mind set piece is almost as important as the substantive knowledge piece.  If you don't beleve in yourself success will not happen. You can do this . . . just BELIEVE!   

Don't Let Failing the Bar Exam Define Who You Are!

By: K.W. Abbott

I know it is easier said than done when your entire world revolves around passing the Bar Exam when you graduate from law school.  The important thing is to keep everything in perspective.  It is an important test that you must pass before you are allowed to practice law.  However, should you not be successful on that first or second or third attempt that does not mean you are a failure . . . that does not mean that you are incapable of getting past the the exam  . . . that does not mean you are not smart enough to practice law. Your performance on the Bar Exam is not about who you are, it is about how well you performed on the exam on that particular day. That is it!  If you were not successful . . . you know the expression . . . if at first you don't succeed . . . try, try again. Don't make passing the Bar Exam bigger than what it is.  The worst thing you can do is decide that your failure to pass the bar exam is a reflection of who you are as a person and as a prospective practicing attorney.  Don't lose confidence! Just knuckle down and keep trying.  You will pass it . . . just don't give up . . . YOU WILL DO IT!  

Bar Exam Failure

Bar Exam Failure

You Have Passed the Bar

Exam . . . Now What?

By: K.W.Abbott

You did it!!! After 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 attempts, you have done it!! You passed the Bar Exam . . . the bane of your existence for years! You are now ready! The legal world is at your feet! You can walk into any company, law firm, university and demand a job because you have your bar license! You were sworn in and you are now ready to engage in the practice of law. You will be welcomed with open arms as a new colleague in the legal profession! NOT!!!! OH . . . SO NOT!!! The road of rejection and disappointment is not over for us multiple Bar Exam takers. You know why? Because the idiots doing the hiring are so fixated on whether you passed the Bar the first time that they completely miss the fact that people who fail the Bar Exam and then pass it have much more to offer from a personal perspective, a tenacity perspective, a toughness perspective, and an appreciation of the field of law perspective, than a Bar Exam applicant who nails it on the first try.

Failing the Bar Exam and then passing it shows that you know the substantive law; you are smart enough; you do have what it takes to succeed as a lawyer because you passed the darn thing! What advantage you have over the first time passing Bar Exam applicant is the argument that you are not a quitter! You don’t give up when the going gets tough! You pursued your goal of passing the Bar Exam and you achieved it in the midst of adversity. You were aggressive and tenacious in your efforts to become a licensed attorney. . . that’s how important being an attorney is to you. You will never take being a lawyer for granted because it took too much and too long to reach the goal! It was difficult, stressful, and a financial drain, but you persevered . . . you came through the fire a winner. You are tough, you are a fighter and you are a winner! What company or law firm would not want that type of attorney working for them on behalf of its clients??

Use your failure as a success story and you will always rise to the top! Remember, you passed the Bar Exam . . . that’s what!

Why Did You Fail the Bar Exam

Why Did You Fail the Bar Exam

The Issue Isn’t THAT You Failed

the Bar Exam . . . It is WHY 

You Fail the Bar Exam?

By: Krystal W. Abbott

"You cannot prevent failure because you cannot control results. But you can control the process. You can learn to become involved in what you do in a different way, so that your emphasis is on the pride and pleasure you take in the work rather than on the results. In doing that, you will have changed the basis for measuring our own success and failure."

When Smart People Fail, Carole Hyatt & Linda Gottlieb, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1989, p. 231. The basis for your failure on the Bar Exam is one or more of the following:

* high level of anxiety about taking the Bar Exam;
* lack of substantive knowledge of the material;
* illegibility of handwriting;
* weak time management techniques; and/or
* sub-standard reading comprehension and analytical skills.

It is important to understand why you failed the Bar Exam so that you will not repeat the same mistakes and duplicate the results. This seems real basic and common sense, but you would be surprised how many people fail the Bar Exam and proceed to study in the same manner which led them to failure the first time. Change it up . . . whether it is where you study, who you study with, the types of practice questions you complete, the order in which you tackle the material, the length of time you devote to certain subjects, etc.

If we concentrate on learning from every situation, especially those in which we seem to fail, we will continually move ahead. Thus, the effective approach might be called learning forward. How can we learn future success through failures? To begin with, view short term failures as the building blocks for success and concentrate on learning all you can from them rather than trying to make excuses or trying to cover up these temporary setbacks. The trick is to always move forward as you fail.

The Power of Failure, Charles C. Manz, (San Francisco; Berrett-Koehler, 2002) p. 18. So don’t let failing the Bar Exam get you down. I know . . . easy for me to say . . . right? Well . . . no . . . it is not easy for me to say. I have just lived it. I have been through it. I have failed the Bar Exam numerous times (7 to be exact) and then passed it! So, I am in the perfect position to let you know that there is life after failing the Bar Exam! Just learn from your failure, change up the journey toward Bar Exam success, and use it as a stepping stone to achieving your ultimate goal of passing the of Bar Exam!

Failing the Bar Exam - Employment Strategy

Failing the Bar Exam - Employment Strategy

Stressin’ the Bar Exam . . . Forget about it!!

Failing it is a Great Employment Strategy!

By: Krystal W. Abbott

"When [ ] fear dominates our lives, it serves as a significant obstacle to developing a resilient mind set." The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence & Personal Strength in Your Life, Robert Brooks, PhD & Sam Goldstien, PhD. The concept of stress is significantly related to the Bar Examination. "Stress by definition, is the inability to cope with a real or imagined threat to our well-being, which, results in a series of responses and adaptations by our bodies. Stress makes us exhausted, fatigued angry, and anxious." God Knows You’re Stressed, Anne Bryan Smollin, (Sorin Books, 2001), pg. 7. Certainly, failing the bar exam presents an "imagined" threat to a future lawyer’s finances, livelihood, career, image, self-esteem . . . I would say that is an "imagined" threat to a future lawyer’s well-being. 

Look at it this way. . . should you fail the Bar Exam, you can really set yourself a part in an interview situation which would really impress your future employer. Look, most people pass the Bar Exam first time around . . . so what! You may have the failed the exam 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 times and yeah, the conventional wisdom is that you must not know the substantive law . . . you must not be smart enough to work at the firm, the company, or the university . . . you must not have what it takes to succeed as a lawyer.

NOT!! It is all about the spin!! Failing the Bar Exam and then passing it shows that you know the substantive law; you are smart enough; you do have what it takes to succeed as a lawyer because you passed the darn thing! What advantage you have over the first time passing Bar Exam applicant is the argument that you are not a quitter! You don’t give up when the going gets tough! You pursued your goal of passing the Bar Exam and you achieved it in the midst of adversity. You were aggressive and tenacious in your efforts to become a licensed attorney. . . that’s how important being an attorney is to you. You will never take being a lawyer for granted because it took too much and too long to reach the goal! It was difficult, stressful, and a financial drain, but you persevered . . . you came through the fire a winner. You are tough, you are a fighter and you are a winner! What company or law firm would not want that type of attorney working for them on behalf of its clients?? Use your failure as a success story and you will always rise to the top! 

Newbee Bar Applicant - Failing the Bar Exam

Newbee Bar Applicant - Failing the Bar Exam

Hey . . . Newbee Bar Applicants . . . -

Don’t Be Afraid to Fail the Bar Exam!

By:  Krystal W. Abbott"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually fear you will make one."  (Elbert Hubbard - writer, publisher, artist, philospher.  I have complete empathy for how the first time bar exam taker is feeling. After all, I was once a Newbee Bar Applicant! How you are made to feel that failing the bar exam is the worst thing that can ever happen in your legal career . . . the embarrassment and humiliation you will feel amongst your family and friends if you fail the exam . . . you might as well quit before you start to avoid the mortification of dealing with the mere idea of failure . .. right?? Of course not! "Fear of failure is one of the biggest obstacles to living a full and rewarding life. Avoiding mistakes or doing a poor job in performing a new activity can cause us not to even try." The Power of Failure, Charles C. Manz, (San Francisco; Berrett-Koehler, 2002) p. 56. 

It is important as a first time bar exam applicant to get comfortable with the notion of failing the bar exam because it is the fear of failing the bar that can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. You must embrace that fear of failure. Once that idea is realized as a potential positive in your life, and visualized as not the end of the world, but rather as a possible opportunity, a pressure and a weight will be lifted and there will be freedom to study more comfortably. Your mind will be more open and receptive to accept and comprehend more substantive material without that worry and anxiety and fear of failure.

"Sometimes failure is failure, at least in the short run. If we can learn to accept failure as a necessary part of life and then take from it the valuable lessons it offers, we can transcend it. Sometimes it’s best to not try to deny or redefine failure but to effectively cope and cooperate with it for future success."
The Power of Failure, Charles C. Manz, (San Francisco; Berrett-Koehler, 2002) p. 73.
So, Newbee Bar Applicants . . . don’t worry about failing the Bar Exam. Focus on passing the Bar Exam. And if you don’t get it the first time . . . so what! Yeah, its depressing and a pain in the butt to take again, but you will learn from failing it . . . it will make you stronger . . . and you will be in a better position to pass it the next time . . . or the next time . . . or the next time . . . just don’t quit! I don’t care if you decide to enter into a different profession . . . don’t quit! You will forever regret not completing this journey! Turn your failure into a success! 

Bar Exam Failure

Bar Exam Failure

I Keep Failing the Bar Exam . . .

Is Somebody Trying to Tell Me Something?

If you have ever taken the bar exam and failed it one, two or more times, I am sure you have questioned whether or not you should be an attorney; whether or not you should figure out another career to pursue; whether you will ever pass the bar exam; whether you should have gone to law school at all! The truth of the matter is that these are all legitimate questions. But the other truth of the matter is that none of the answers to those questions matter. You have embarked on the journey to become a licensed attorney. You must complete the journey . . . period . . . end of story. You can’t give up! You have invested too much time and money into this venture called becoming a lawyer. Even if law ends up not being your calling in life . . . even if law school was not the right graduate school of choice, none of it matters! You have to pass the bar no matter how long it takes or how many attempts you must make. If you don’t finish the journey, you will always regret it. 

I took the bar exam 8 times over a period of 9 years. I got married and had 3 of my kids before I was finally able to pass the exam. Frustrating? Absolutely! Low points? Lots of them! Passing the bar? Sweet Victory! You can do it! Don’t give up the fight, as Bob Marley says. You have to keep pushing and striving to achieve what is rightfully yours . . . a bar license to practice law. Don’t let your state bar of law examiners deny you what you have invested so much of your time and money into. You can do it! Don’t let anything stop you from completing the journey!