What happens if you fail the bar exam the first time? Forum

[idfatq]

Let say I did everything right (did well in UG, got a good LSAT score, went to a top law school, got great grades 1L, interviewed well 2L, didn't mess up 2L summer) and had a biglaw job lined up only to........... fail the bar exam. Does your biglaw job disappear? What happens to these people? I thought it was only applicable to TTTT folks until i realized this happens to one in five at some of the top law schools.

[SOCRATiC]

I heard that at some firms, if you fail twice, you're out.

[idfatq]

so they're ok with it if you fail once?

[Anonymous User]

so they're ok with it if you fail once?

Obviously each firm is different, but generally you'll get a second chance (in February) to pass it. Think of it this way, at least in biglaw, they have paid thousands of dollars to recruit and train you. You'll be working as a "law clerk" from September/October until you get the bar results anyways, so you'd just keep that title until the following spring, when you either pass or get kicked out. Also, you'll be expected to pay for any new course you take, and study on your own time (so you'll still be working a ton of hours and studying til late and nonstop on weekends). If you don't goof off from the time you graduate until the end of July, and follow your KaplanPMBR/BarBri course, you should be in the majority who pass.

[BeautifulSW]

From a statistical standpoint, the chance of failing the bar exam on the first attempt is very small given the hypothetical the OP posts.

The best predicter of Bar exam performance is law school performance. Right behind that is the LSAT score but those two things are closely intertwined, too. Basically, if you are in the top third of your class at a T1 or T2 school when you graduate, barring illness or some personal disaster, you'll pass first time around.

Notice that which Bar prep course you take is not terribly significant. Such little research as I've seen suggests that any structured study of written materials is about as effective as anything for the group of students I'm talking about. It appears that you really don't need BARBRI. If you are in the bottom half or two-thirds in a T3 or T4 school, Bar prep becomes more important.