How do you explain failing the bar/what happens/what should you do (biglaw NYC)
Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 3:18 pm
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Then this is just an exercise in unjustified paranoia. You really shouldn't worry about having that conversation until after you get your scores back. Plenty of people pass the bar despite not studying at all until the 4th of July.bloodorangedeer wrote:MBE scores are above Barbri's recommended goals
Dude, if you were you top 2% at a T14, you know how to write a damn essay. I bet 99/100 people with your profile pass the bar exam on the first attempt. You'll be fine.bloodorangedeer wrote:About me: Heading to V10 firm this fall, graduated top 2%, magna from T14 school.
I don't know if I will fail the bar, but I know it is a possibility. I was very sick for the first few weeks of June and fell behind on bar study. I've been working my ass off (MBE scores are above Barbri's recommended goals), but my essays are dogshit. I know that might be ok, I may pass, etc. etc., but as a doomsday mentality person, I wanted to ask the community for advice and insight on to what failing at a big law firm looks like, what your options are if you do fail, if you should warn your firm ahead of time (re: sickness), what you should say if you do fail it, and how it affects your future at the firm.
I had a pretty similar similar profile to you--run of the mill HYS grad headed to V10, and couldn't study for 3 weeks in June for personal reasons. I studied hard for the MBE (was testing above recommended Barbri goals by test day), but I did close to zero preparation for the essays. I literally did not look at any of the the essay-only subjects until two days before the exam, and I did only a couple practice essays total (less than 5) throughout the entire study process. My theory was that I needed to gain familiarity with the law, but that--based on my credentials--I probably was already a better essay writer than the vast majority of test-takers. For the essays, if you can just make an argument that's logically structured and reasonable, you can get a lot of points. I also figured that if I had a high MBE, it would balance out a low essay score.bloodorangedeer wrote:About me: Heading to V10 firm this fall, graduated top 2%, magna from T14 school.
I don't know if I will fail the bar, but I know it is a possibility. I was very sick for the first few weeks of June and fell behind on bar study. I've been working my ass off (MBE scores are above Barbri's recommended goals), but my essays are dogshit. I know that might be ok, I may pass, etc. etc., but as a doomsday mentality person, I wanted to ask the community for advice and insight on to what failing at a big law firm looks like, what your options are if you do fail, if you should warn your firm ahead of time (re: sickness), what you should say if you do fail it, and how it affects your future at the firm.
Piggybacking because I'm in the same situation as OP too. Did you just make up rules in the essays when you didn't know the answer? And scored high?Anonymous User wrote:I had a pretty similar similar profile to you--run of the mill HYS grad headed to V10, and couldn't study for 3 weeks in June for personal reasons. I studied hard for the MBE (was testing above recommended Barbri goals by test day), but I did close to zero preparation for the essays. I literally did not look at any of the the essay-only subjects until two days before the exam, and I did only a couple practice essays total (less than 5) throughout the entire study process. My theory was that I needed to gain familiarity with the law, but that--based on my credentials--I probably was already a better essay writer than the vast majority of test-takers. For the essays, if you can just make an argument that's logically structured and reasonable, you can get a lot of points. I also figured that if I had a high MBE, it would balance out a low essay score.bloodorangedeer wrote:About me: Heading to V10 firm this fall, graduated top 2%, magna from T14 school.
I don't know if I will fail the bar, but I know it is a possibility. I was very sick for the first few weeks of June and fell behind on bar study. I've been working my ass off (MBE scores are above Barbri's recommended goals), but my essays are dogshit. I know that might be ok, I may pass, etc. etc., but as a doomsday mentality person, I wanted to ask the community for advice and insight on to what failing at a big law firm looks like, what your options are if you do fail, if you should warn your firm ahead of time (re: sickness), what you should say if you do fail it, and how it affects your future at the firm.
I ended up scoring just as high on the essays as I did on the MBE--my total score was above 300.
Yes, I made up rules for essays if I didn't know the answer. I bet that secured transactions wouldn't show up on the essay, and particularly spent very little time on it. It showed up anyways and I 100% B.S.ed my way through the essay.Anonymous User wrote:Piggybacking because I'm in the same situation as OP too. Did you just make up rules in the essays when you didn't know the answer? And scored high?Anonymous User wrote:I had a pretty similar similar profile to you--run of the mill HYS grad headed to V10, and couldn't study for 3 weeks in June for personal reasons. I studied hard for the MBE (was testing above recommended Barbri goals by test day), but I did close to zero preparation for the essays. I literally did not look at any of the the essay-only subjects until two days before the exam, and I did only a couple practice essays total (less than 5) throughout the entire study process. My theory was that I needed to gain familiarity with the law, but that--based on my credentials--I probably was already a better essay writer than the vast majority of test-takers. For the essays, if you can just make an argument that's logically structured and reasonable, you can get a lot of points. I also figured that if I had a high MBE, it would balance out a low essay score.bloodorangedeer wrote:About me: Heading to V10 firm this fall, graduated top 2%, magna from T14 school.
I don't know if I will fail the bar, but I know it is a possibility. I was very sick for the first few weeks of June and fell behind on bar study. I've been working my ass off (MBE scores are above Barbri's recommended goals), but my essays are dogshit. I know that might be ok, I may pass, etc. etc., but as a doomsday mentality person, I wanted to ask the community for advice and insight on to what failing at a big law firm looks like, what your options are if you do fail, if you should warn your firm ahead of time (re: sickness), what you should say if you do fail it, and how it affects your future at the firm.
I ended up scoring just as high on the essays as I did on the MBE--my total score was above 300.
My strategy right now is basically to score > 70% on the MBE and pray to god that's enough.
Well this is really relieving to hear.LurkerTurnedMember wrote:If you got less than passing scores on the barbri graded essay, don't worry. Only 1 out of 3 of those essays were passing for me (I even took extra time on some and got well below passing) and I still passed the California bar back when it was the hard 3-day test. Barbri likes to be extra harsh on the essays to scare you.