I Passed the Attorney Bar Exam!

[GearRyu]

I did it! I passed the bar exam! I'm one step closer to being an attorney! Oh man, I was so nervous. I studied over eight hours, every single day, for over two months, for the hardest exam in my life! It was worth it. I can tell you, even taking the exam, there was many a time I said to myself, "I have no idea what the answer to this question is!" And then I remembered that the test is curved, and and if I didn't know the answer, chances are that nobody else did! Still, you don't know until you actually get the results. I took the exam at the end of July, and I only just today, less than an hour ago, got my results.

Oh man, I am so happy. I need to celebrate!

The next step is passing Character & Fitness. It's basically a background check they do on all attorneys to make sure you meet the ethical standards to become an attorney. Yes, this might shock some people, but you have to pass a detailed background check and also take an ethics examination to be an attorney. I turned mine in early, so hopefully I will get my results this week. After that, I can actually get my bar license, and then I will be an actual lawyer!

Whew...!

P.S.
For those of you who wonder why I said attorney bar exam, it's because I cant tell you how many times somebody has asked me, in all seriousness, "So now you can be a bartender?"

[Bozo]

Congrats dude!!! Now go call some of your law buddies and have several beers. Aim to try to forget about 25% of what you crammed in these past two months by imbibing copious amounts this weekend. Try to get laid as well. It's nice icing on the cake.

Re: two month studying. I've got USMLE Step 1 coming up in July. That'll be my May and June.

[OhZone]

Simply, OHYEAH! Happy for you! Well done!

[sodacat]

Congratz. A friend of mine is a public defender, and he seems to find it rewarding.

[GearRyu]

Congrats dude!!! Now go call some of your law buddies and have several beers. Aim to try to forget about 25% of what you crammed in these past two months by imbibing copious amounts this weekend. Try to get laid as well. It's nice icing on the cake.

Actually, yeah, I totally need to figure out what to do to celebrate! ^_^

Re: two month studying. I've got USMLE Step 1 coming up in July. That'll be my May and June.

Good luck, man. It'll be stressful, but remember to always have some outlet for stress relief. Roleplaying games were one of mine.

A friend of mine is a public defender, and he seems to find it rewarding.

I just had an interview with my county's public defender. Chances are I'll have a job opportunity open there sometime in the next few months. I worked there as a student attorney two summers ago. Honestly, one of the greatest experiences of my adult life. It was at that time that I realized, "yes, this is exactly what I want to do with my life; I love doing it".

And here I was hoping you'd be able to mix us up some transformative drinks. :P

Well, maybe I could write a transformative contract... or make a point of law that proves that you must transform. :-P

[Jecilyn]

Many congrats Thats awesome news

[AzureChromatic]

Congrats on passing

[no-name]

Congratulations! I find it odd that anyone would mistaken your bar exam for that of a bartender. Then again, I played the Ace Attorney games, so take that for what it's worth.

In any case, glad to hear you're one step closer to your goal. Speaking of which, what exactly are they looking for in the "Fitness" portion of this "Character & Fitness" that you're trying to pass?

[qzar9999]

Of course you have to take an ethics test. They need to make sure you don't have any.

Seriously, congratulations. You clearly worked hard to get this and you should be proud of it.

[GearRyu]

what exactly are they looking for in the "Fitness" portion of this "Character & Fitness" that you're trying to pass?

Basically, they want to be sure that you have a good moral compass, are a law-abiding citizen, and are mentally stable.

The Character and Fitness Committee asks about civil violations, criminal violations, traffic tickets, debts owed (past and present), an accounting of anywhere you've lived, every place you worked, three legal references, three personal references, and a bunch of other things. Sometimes they want everything from up to ten years ago; sometimes they want everything from the day you were born. Did you get suspended in grade school? You better mention it.

I'm not joking.

Obviously, nobody's perfect, and accountability's a big part of it. You may be put through an ordeal explaining why you're a better person now, and it might delay your license, but that's better than omitting it, because if they find out, you can kiss your license goodbye. And they will find out you omitted something.

You see, they make you do your own background check, and then they double check everything, and do their own investigation. They take as long as they need to do their investigation, which can take months.

I can't speak for the Character and Fitness board, but to my understanding, it's not usually one violation that matters (although it could be), but a pattern of violations and suspicious circumstances. So, one bad debt probably won't make a difference. But if you have defaulted on four debts, have had six civil court cases, can't account for your whereabouts for 2 1/2 years, they may very well want to speak to you personally and conduct a more in-depth examination. You might have no criminal history, but if it looks like you are an emotionally unstable sleazebag, well, it doesn't look good.

Of course, sometimes a single problem can get you in trouble. For example, if you've committed a felony (especially a violent or fraudulent one), you're probably not going to pass character and fitness.

And yes, every lawyer goes through this process.

Psssh. I'd have to sign it or something, just like demons' contracts. =P

We'll just make you a third party assignee for the benefits of a bimbofication contract and you'll deal with the consequences until you revoke them. :-P
OR DID I JUST BLOW YOUR MIND?! O_o

(Okay, now I'm contemplating the legal ramifications of something like that if it were possible. Maybe I should just dedicate a humor thread to Process in the Law)

[Dog_Girl_Kari]

Congrats!

[JBird]

Congrats! And I've seen enough courtroom dramas to know the difference between the bar and a bar =P