In a recent post within my private support group for Bar takers, I addressed the need to build a career and basically "have a life" even if you haven't passed the Bar yet. I delve deeper into that here.
As a mentor who helps people past the emotional and spiritual barriers blocking them from passing the Bar, I regularly witness my clients approach passing the Bar as if supplicating or the permission to live. (I did too. You'll see more on that below). We spend all this time in law school— 3 years for traditional track and 4-5 years for extended tracks or night class programs.
Then we dedicate another month or two to study. Include an additional 2 months of suspense waiting to get your results. Then add up the friends we've lost, relationships neglected and work opportunities passed up in order to successfully graduate and you've got a good 3.5-5 years where preparing for the practice of law took over your life. (We did not count the time and money invested in the LSAT but you get the picture--HUGE life chunk). So, when you get your results and find out you've failed the Bar, the life trajectory disruption can not be bypassed.
You can not shrug this off and carry on with your normal life. This WAS your life! Everything you had done for the last 3-5 years led up to this and everything you planned to do after this test was hinged on you passing! You did not plan for failing the Bar. Most students in this position do the only thing they can think to do: buckle down, email their Bar Review course contact to say that they'll be taking advantage of the re-take option and start studying again.
Meanwhile, what bills have gone unpaid? What family vacations skipped? What "extra" expenses (self-care?) dispensed with? All put on hold for when you get that attorney salary. At this point, after 3-5 years of school, additional months studying for, taking, and awaiting the results of the bar Exam, it is likely NO salary is coming in. You probably know you have to do the unthinkable--go work a non-law job.
But how do you go out and even begin looking for work? Do you leave your entire law school career off your resume? How will you explain that time gap? So you leave it on. Then you fear managers won't hire you because you're either going to quit as soon as you pass the Bar (I would) or you'll do a half-baked job because you're just using the job to get by. What if they discover I really just need to pay the bills and that's why I'm applying to work here. Big surprise. Isn't that why most people apply for work? What if I let them down when I leave?
When I was two years out of law school, having failed the Bar exam twice broke and defeated, I arrived to where I HAD to make moves. It was not an option, I had a family to support. I wasn't brave enough to apply for a permanent position anywhere because all those fear-mongering questions (above) held me back. Are you in this boat? I invite you to RELAX and shrug off the fears.
Let me introduce a different set of thoughts.
There are plenty of employers who would do backflips if they could have a law graduate on their team, specifically because of all the grit and brains that comes with you being a law graduate.
There are plenty of employers who would like to make a long lasting connection with you and be able to call you for help once you do become licensed; especially if you've chosen a j.o.b. closely related to the area of law you want to practice.
There are plenty of employers who sympathize with your situation and want to support you in their dreams. They want to feel philanthropic. They will likely see themselves as part of the reason for your success once you do pass. Also, if hiring you makes good business sense (see the last few lines) they've given themselves a huge emotional win off of a strategic business decision--hiring you. As a business person myself I attest this is Gold i.e., the best of both worlds.
There are plenty of employers willing to give you a chance to prove yourself at their business. They are willing to entrust you (more than the lay person because of the standard of ethics you are held to). They are willing to trust you to help them turn a profit, even if that help comes with an expiration date.
Despite all I've detailed above, the real benefit and challenge is not for your would-be employer but for you, the Bar Examinee. Can you, 1-2 years out of law school give yourself permission to explore an alternate identity, even temporarily. Can you give yourself permission to seek out employment in the field you're most likely to practice law in once you're licensed? Realtor, Insurance Agent, Banker, you can even go for a paralegal position in a firm that practices the law you hope to practice.
Can you let yourself go at it like it's an open door to your new career? Giving it your all? Ignoring the what ifs? As future attorneys we are infused with integrity and can't shake off the duty to our fellow man or future employer. I'm not saying you should shake off and ignore this discomfort with leaving them in the lurch.
But consider that even 1 year of your "make the best of it" work can surpass the value of a less educated or qualified employee's 6 years with the company. Besides, the company may have an established 1-2 year turnover rate and expect that you would be leaving soon anyway. But can you imagine the impact you would have on that company, plus the gain in confidence, knowledge and self-esteem that you would get? It is literally a win-win-win, if you can allow yourself to see it that way.
I had the awesome privilege of working with a Florida attorney who showed me what it's like to be a successful lawyer with a heart. I came across him because, having failed the Bar twice I needed to start focusing on paying the bills. I signed up with a legal temp agency and got a call to fill in for a paralegal who was going on vacation.
With my short-cropped bleach-blond hair and nose ring I was not embodying my professional best (I had not owned my 'attorney identity' which was a large part of the problem but more on that in another post).
When I arrived for the assignment, the attorney-owner and I sat together to get acquainted and he learned of my law degree and background. I can't speak definitively as to his thoughts, but I think at that moment the win-win formulated in his mind. A few weeks later I got a job offer, as a paralegal. The set up worked for a solo attorney who had largely been relying on favors from family to complete the myriad tasks that come with a small successful solo practice. And it worked for me.
He could get law clerk quality help at a paralegal salary and I got a steady paycheck with the understanding that I would be taking (and passing) the Bar soon—and probably leaving. He got my best work, plus the benefit of teaching a student of the law. I got to see myself as that attorney some day. I was building my confidence and being a valuable asset to the firm.
The firm evolved and he was able to promote me to an Associate position. Quite honestly, it all just came together. I did not pre-plan it. I just decided to live my life, move out of my parents' home, get involved in my son's life, and start dating despite having not passed the Bar. The pride of being able to be an attorney at the same firm I had spent almost two years as a paralegal, well, that over shadowed all the misgivings I had from inception.
You can pay the bills, live a life, and also continue working to become an attorney. You can go on vacation, celebrate pay raises and get a new car, home, whatever you please, even as you study to pass the Bar. And you don't have to keep your attorney dreams a secret. You can do all this. Yes, you can.
If you want help to shore up your confidence, get a good career-starter job (or go back to your pre-law school career), juggle work, family, love and, money while studying for the Bar with ease and grace, schedule a Confidence Kickstart call.