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i'm an incoming associate at a firm that requires us to be barred within 6 months of starting work. i don't have a start date yet but assume it will be october or november. i know i'm a screw-up, and meant to get my california character & fitness stuff submitted several months ago but am just now ready to send everything in (prob. in the next 2-3 days).

i just kept putting it off and then ignored it during finals. most people i've talked to have said to be barred on time, california requires the character/fitness stuff to have gone out as early as december or january... feb. at the latest. i guess my question is has anyone heard of any way to expedite this or if i should call my firm and explain what happened?

I have a friend who applied for the CA bar sometime in March-ish (July exam), submitted C+F stuff at the same time, and got barred in December. I think you'll be okay. (Or at least, I hope, considering I did the same thing.)

i got my c+f back in under 2 months. i think most people get there's back within 3 months. apply now and you should be fine.

Anonymous User wrote:I have a friend who applied for the CA bar sometime in March-ish (July exam), submitted C+F stuff at the same time, and got barred in December. I think you'll be okay. (Or at least, I hope, considering I did the same thing.)

This is the longest I've ever heard it take. I think it's only suppose to take 90 days at most after your online status says "Under Review." However, if they find something that's unclear or shady, it might take longer.

Assuming you have a past that's squeaky clean, you'll be fine. If you have some things in your past that you need to disclose (particularly criminal convictions/arrests), it's unlikely you'll receive your bar number in time. California requires you to get police reports and court dockets for your criminal convictions and, if you've ever had to deal with the State of California for anything that takes, well, pretty much forever.