Question about the bar from an undergrad! Forum

[freakazo1d]

Hey Everyone,

I'm planning on attending law school, but I just had a few questions about the bar process (I already took my LSATs and did well). So I'm near NYC and NJ, and it takes a while to get back the results. For the Feb it comes in May, and July it comes in Nov.

The schedule is graduate law school and then take the bar in July (typically). And, then what happens...

Do students typically have jobs lined up by this point (assuming a top 6 school), and if they do, do they start working at those firms right away in a position below associate? Or do they use this time off to relax? What exactly is the typical situation?

Thanks in advance!

[txdude45]

Hey Everyone,

I'm planning on attending law school, but I just had a few questions about the bar process (I already took my LSATs and did well). So I'm near NYC and NJ, and it takes a while to get back the results. For the Feb it comes in May, and July it comes in Nov.

The schedule is graduate law school and then take the bar in July (typically). And, then what happens...

Do students typically have jobs lined up by this point (assuming a top 6 school), and if they do, do they start working at those firms right away in a position below associate? Or do they use this time off to relax? What exactly is the typical situation?

Thanks in advance!

The usual route seems to be graduate->study ->bar->relax->results->start working in September. By the time people sit for the bar they usually have jobs be that BigLaw, clerkships, PI, etc. Firms usually have a set timeframe within which people start working (typically a few weeks after summer associates leave), some places let you come in right away (Bronx defenders for example) and you just need to pass the bar to stay employed, and clerkships obviously depend on your agreed upon start date. This is just based on talking to associates and 3Ls over the past couple years.

For now you just need to worry about getting into a law school with good employment stats and at which you won't go broke.

[freakazo1d]

Thanks, that was really helpful! So you can start working without your bar results it seems?

[BVest]

Thanks, that was really helpful! So you can start working without your bar results it seems?

Yes. But in doing so, you're not doing anything that would require a license. You're not in charge of any cases (generally for a long time anyway) and all of your work is being reviewed by at least one attorney, usually more depending on the context, before it sees the light of day.

[freakazo1d]

Gotchya, makes sense! That's what I was looking to know, so the schedule is something like:

May: Graduate
End of July: Take the Bar Exam
August: Go Crazy + Travel the World
September: Start Working
November: Hopefully all goes well and you pass the bar

Right?

[BVest]

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