Lawyers and Bar Exam Takers. Oh. My. Gosh.

[justKate]

So I finished law school in '06 and took the Feb. '07 bar exam in Florida, and ROCKED it, if I do say so myself.  (Patting myself on the back now.)  So I'm good at memorization and test taking, but horribly inadequate in other lawyerly skills.  Now I find myself moving to Virginia next month with Huz, who is military.  We'll be there four years.  I managed to get a state job here in Texas that doesn't require an in-state bar, but I'm not so sure about the chances of that happening again in Virginia.  I looked up Virginia's bar rules today. I'm not eligible to be admitted on motion (I'm 9 mos. short of the "5 years of practice" requirement) and they don't have an attorney's exam.  WTH. 

Now I'm looking at retaking the entire bar exam, MBE and MPRE included.  Ugh.  $800 to take it, plus I'll need to do some sort of prep.  BarBri is still $2,200, even if you've taken it before.  I will have unemployment for up to a year, so while I'm looking forward to being a SAHM for a while, this seriously sucks.  And I'll have to pay for child care to take a course...how do real people make this happen?

Any advice?  Comiseration?  Any way I can just give the education back?  "No thanks, I changed my mind.  This isn't what I wanted after all...."

[Evergreen]

You also have to wear a suit to take the Virginia bar ughhh. Are you allowed to get another bar loan? And why is it that EVERYONE is exactly 9 mos short of 5 years when they get transferred out of state?

[justKate]

I will throw myself in the river before I take out one more loan.  You know what I wore to the FL bar?  Addidas pants, tennis shoes, and a sweatshirt.  '90's Korn-style Addidas pants, just like I wore to every exam in law school.

Anyone have a '10-'11 BarBri MPRE book they want to sell me?  Looks like I have to take that again, too....

[JudiAU]

Washington D.C bar has some interesting reciprocity rules. You might see if you can weasel a relationship that way. One of our attorneys was able to skip a bar exam by join it first. 

[Evergreen]

Originally Posted by justKate 

I will throw myself in the river before I take out one more loan.  You know what I wore to the FL bar?  Addidas pants, tennis shoes, and a sweatshirt.  '90's Korn-style Addidas pants, just like I wore to every exam in law school.

Anyone have a '10-'11 BarBri MPRE book they want to sell me?  Looks like I have to take that again, too....

I hear you on the loans. It's why I'm going to an instate tttt instead of one of the better schools I actually did get into.

Maybe ebay has a BarBri cheap from someone who just took the Feb. exam.

[Super~Single~Mama]

Originally Posted by justKate 

Anyone have a '10-'11 BarBri MPRE book they want to sell me?  Looks like I have to take that again, too....

I studied for exactly 3 hours before taking the MPRE - all you need to know is that you choose the 2nd most ethical answer, the most ethical is far too ethical for lawyers
 

Originally Posted by JudiAU 

Washington D.C bar has some interesting reciprocity rules. You might see if you can weasel a relationship that way. One of our attorneys was able to skip a bar exam by join it first. 

DEFINITELY check out DC.  Getting licensed in DC is pretty easy from what I hear (I heard that if you got above a certain MBE score you can waive in?)  And to practice in DC I think you just need to be licensed in any state - double check for sure!

Good luck!!!  I don't know anything about the VA bar, but you might be able to buy someones used books and do self study?  No bar loans, I definitely feel you on that one!

[subrosa]

Originally Posted by Super~Single~Mama 

DEFINITELY check out DC.  Getting licensed in DC is pretty easy from what I hear (I heard that if you got above a certain MBE score you can waive in?)  And to practice in DC I think you just need to be licensed in any state - double check for sure!

To practice for the feds, all you need is a license in any state.  To practice in DC, you need to be admitted to the DC bar.  Sometimes you can be DC pending for contract attorney/doc review work, but almost all of these projects require that you at least be pending (DC bar handed down some ethics rule or other that everyone knows is basically a $ grab, but hey, what isn't when you're a lawyer?)

If it hasn't changed, you can waive into DC with a 135 or above MBE and a fistful of cash .  It took about 6-9 months of processing time when I did it in 2007.

I would also recommend trying self-study for the bar.  I've taken and passed bar exams in 3 states without BarBri, and frankly, I think they kind of prey on people's understandable fear of failure.  Seriously, I passed CT with the help of 2 BarBri books I got for $50 on eBay.  You've passed a bar before, so you know that it's mostly a mind game.  Feel free to PM me if you want to know more about DC bar admissions...can't help you with VA, but I'm licensed in DC and MD, and I know the metro DC area pretty well.   

[laneysprout]

Oh, can I join you?  While I am NOT finishing law school or taking the bar exam, my DH is in the midst of all the chaos.  I think defending my PhD dissertation last March when I was nearly seven months pregnant was less stressful than all the paperwork and prep courses he his navigating right now.  He's planning to take RI and MA.  I think he's more worried about RI, since he keeps referring to "Passachusetts" .

[justKate]

subrosa, that's good to hear.  I won't be close enough to DC to work there though...we'll be in SE Va., but not reasonable commuting distance to Richmond or Norfolk.  I've been stalking usajobs, hoping that something might come up there.  I think I need to pursue the Federal job angle further....

Thanks for letting me whine!