Thursday, October 18, 2007

Job Search Without a Law License...

I mentioned last time that I failed the Illinois bar. Well, it is not the agony of re-taking the bar exam that is the most frustrating part of it all. It is the question of what to do in the meantime? I will start my loan repayment soon and I cannot even find a law clerk position anywhere!

So I sent out resumes to firms who posted a wanted for law clerks on the school website, and received 1 interview. WooHoo! I was excited to even get one. But the interview (two days ago) lasted only 15 mins and the big question was, "You probably won't be around after February, will you?"....Well....I'm not sure whether they wanted to hire me full time, but I doubt it. Of course, I won't be a law-clerk if I pass the Feb bar! Or at least I hope it doesn't come down to that.

So my question to all of you is, What does someone with a JD and no license do? What should I do other than stay at home and study and hope for better luck next time?

Monday, October 8, 2007

Reality of Failing....the (Illinois) Bar Exam!

So till now I kept on wondering what should I write about and how should I shape this blog. Should this blog be limited to the general topic of women or about me? The reality is that I am a woman and any blog about me is a blog about reality of women, or at least woman.

The first question is: Who am I?
Answer...without disclosing my name and personally identifying details, I should say that I am a South-Asian (Indian) woman who has studied all my life so far and finally put myself through law school while juggling with an emotionally charged new marriage. My career was about to launch right after I passed Illinois bar...but I failed.

I don't know how to describe the agony of the more than two month wait that led to finding out that I was 9 points short of passing. This was first time that I failed any exam. The reason for my failure could be different depending on where I dissect it. On the bar exam day, I mis-bubbled some answers and erasing lost time, which resulted in not finishing an MBE section on time. But prior to that, I joined BarBri and studied a couple of hours a day. I must say that I was not beaming with confidence on the day of the Bar. I have managed to regain my positivity about the upcoming retake because I can study more and how much I study is something I can control.

While I yahooed blogs for moral support, I found a significant lacking in people who openly came out and admitted to having failed the bar exam and its aftermath. I suppose this struggle applies to both men and women who have failed the bar exam or any exam that matters. I don't know how else to help rather than to say, you are not alone! For now, I'm going to focus on the things that I can control and move on with life and career.

Wish you all success in whatever you wish to accomplish in your life.
Till next time...