Counsel

Nov

25

How Do I Recover From Failing My Bar Exam?

Filed Under Counsel  •  17 Comments

OBABL,

I’ll make this quick. I failed my bar exam. I have no money and no “real” job but don’t feel I can quit the gig I’ve got to study for the next exam.  I want your advice, but I’m very fragile right now, so please handle me with kid gloves.

Stupefied and defeated

Dear SAD,

First, some good news, failing the bar exam puts you in the company of some very accomplished individuals. WSJ  This year’s most popular public failure belongs to Elizabeth Wurtzel who was outed by everyone from Gawker to The New York Observer.

We can only feel so bad for Wurtz. The best-selling author attended Yale Law School then after shooting off an email to a partner was offered an associate position at a prestigious NY law firm. (Don’t try this at home, boys and girls.)

Anyhow, Wurtzel’s press paled in comparison to that of the deceased heartthrob, John F. Kennedy, Jr., who woke to the headline, “THE HUNK FLUNKS,” after his second attempt.  While it has been suggested that these two lacked focus, this cannot be said of Hillary Clinton (she failed the D.C. bar but passed in Arkansas), former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and Florida Governor Charlie Crist.  The latter two failed twice.

Advice for future bar victors after the jump:

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Nov

17

Should I Date My Law School Professor?

Filed Under Counsel  •  2 Comments

Dear Counsel,

I’m a female 3L taking a seminar class from an adjunct professor highly regarded in his field. Last week I went by his office and sensed something stirring in him.  Initially, this revelation made me nervous, but the more I think about it the wider my grin gets.  True said professor is nearly twice my age, but he’s in really good shape, and I hardly notice his gray hair. I’ve never dated a professor before (well, I did do a few laps with my swimming instructor at “The Real HU,” but does that really count? I already knew how to stroke.)

Thinking about doing professor of legal easement

Tadpole,

If we had a dollar for every friend who had found herself in this situation, we’d have enough for a tall latte. In case you haven’t heard, the pickings are slim for professional black women, so if you have on your tip a gainfully employed gentleman who can even teach you something, we say rock the bells!  (We’re assuming you’re no legal Doogie Howser but are in fact well over the age of consent).  We would advise your waiting until the end of the semester, after grades have been submitted.  Remember, in the early stages of a relationship, it is about showing your brains, not giving them.

Disclaimer:  Names, places and incidents have been so distorted as to render this scenario fictitious.  Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

If you’d like our counsel, send questions to tips@onbeingablacklawyer.com.