Top Law Schools

So I'm a current first year at a big firm outside of CA. I went to law school in California and loved it, but for some personal reasons that are no longer relevant I picked a V10 firm in a different major market. About to leave to clerk (district + circuit, neither in CA), and am strongly considering--but not necessarily married to--the idea of returning to California afterwards. My firm has a California presence but didn't approve my attempt to switch offices before starting, so I'm skeptical that it would offer an easy path back, meaning I would likely have to re-recruit for CA if I ended up going that route.

I'm leaving my firm here in a few months, and would have some time to study before the CA bar in July. I passed the UBE with a pretty fat margin, so I'm not too concerned with passing CA. At the same time, I had been planning on trying to get a couple law review articles I've been mulling over since 3L ready for publication, and also just wanted to take a good deal of time to travel before I clerk for two years. While I might be able to do those while studying for the bar, removing the latter would take a lot off my plate.

My instinct is to pass on taking the CA bar this summer, and plan on doing it in February 2028 instead if I can get a firm in CA to take me. My main concern is that firms may not be willing to take a hard look at my file without a CA license. Is that a serious issue to be concerned about? Should I just bite the bullet and sign up for the CA bar this summer?

My experience might be relevant to yours. I passed the UBE in new york with a little margin. A small CA firm took me in with the condition that I took the next CA bar in Feb. I prepped and sat in the exam and finished with confidence —— but didn't pass. My reasoning being that Feb exam automatically has a pre-determined lower passing rate at 20-30%, comparing to the passing rate in July at 60-70%, regardless how the pool or you as an individual performs. So my take is to sit in for the July exam as much as you can. And if you have to take the Feb exam, work extra hard on the multiple choices because they are less subject to grader's whim.

Definitely take it—you’ll never be fresher on bar materials than you are now. I took and passed the CA bar in February, while working as a first year associate, after taking it in a UBE jx in July. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I had retained.

I didn’t find it to be a huge lift at all. I spent a few weekends brushing up on the California stuff using Mary Basick’s book, and drilled multiple choice on Adaptibar on my phone during my commute. So I think you could easily fit it in to your writing and travel plans.