Try and Try Again : The California Bar Exam Has Prompted Divorces, Heart Attacks and,in Some Veterans, an Astonishing Persistence
They are regulars, and the California Bar is their rendezvous. After years of sharing misery, many love the company--or at least take comfort in the crowd that gathers at the Pasadena Convention Center.
The California State Bar examination, widely regarded as the nationâs most difficult state licensing exam for attorneys, is taken--and retaken--by more prospective lawyers than any other in the country. Because only about half of the 7,000 to 8,000 who take the twice-a-year exam pass, many keep returning to try again, sometimes for as long as a decade.
In a place where stress can break the line between anxiety and insanity, some band together in an effort to succeed. While most only survive, survival is the only success that counts.
âYou see the same people every February and July. Even if you donât know their names, you recognize them,â says 27-year-old Jeff Galen, who will receive his latest exam results this week. âItâs kind of like a reunion.â
Galen, Mike Farrell, Lynn Friedman and Sari Schumacher reunited for lunch outside the convention center at that exam, which they all were taking for the third time. Although they enjoyed the camaraderie, theyâd prefer meeting elsewhere.
âI want to pass more than anything, so that I can get on with my life,â says Galen, who first took the test in July, 1984. âEverything is stagnant. There really is nowhere for me to go until I pass.â
Most fail. In July, 1984, barely 42% of the 7,352 who took it passed the examâs 200 multiple-choice questions, 6 essays and 2 research problems. Of that 7,352, 2,498 were repeat test takers--only 367 of whom passed. There is no limit to the number of times the test may be taken.
âWeâve all become better friends because of the bar,â Galen says. âItâs nice that, even though no one else understands, your friends do.â
What they understand is the agony of wasted effort. After three to four years of law school and 12 hours a day of studying in the months before the test, theyâre still not attorneys. The pain and pressure of that failure is reflected in the plastic bags holding the only items they take into the exam room at the Pasadena Convention Center. Amid pencils and pens are aspirin and earplugs, and Band-Aids for blisters formed after hours of writing.
White-knuckled, they clutch their bags and share horror stories.
In Pasadena last July, one applicant arrived five minutes late--and collapsed, crying, at the entrance. Another applicant spent hours in the exam room rocking in his seat and banging his head against his hands. There have been heart attacks during exams and, in one legendary incident, a would-be attorney stripped Continued
Continued and ran screaming from the room.
âYou know, I was listening to these people talk about having taken the bar five or six times, and suddenly I didnât feel so bad,â Schumacher, 30, says. âWeâre babies compared to them.â
âWell, this is the last time for me!â Galen vows.
âEven if you donât pass?â Schumacher asks.
Galen blanches.
âWhat am I going to say to the dean of my school if I see him at another cocktail party and still havenât passed?â Farrell, 29, asks. âDid I tell you about that? I walked into this party, and he was standing by the bar. He turns to me and goes, âFarrell, why havenât you passed yet?â It was really embarrassing.â
âI donât know what I can do differently to pass,â he adds, shoulders sagging.
âYou shouldnât eat roast beef,â says Schumacher, pointing at Farrellâs sandwich. âItâll make you perform less well this afternoon.â
âYeah, Iâll fall asleep,â says Farrell, taking another bite.
Everyone laughs.
For some, like Friedman, preparing for the exam has been a full-time job. After failing the first time, she studied for three months at a law library from 8 or 9 every morning until 6 or 7 at night, she says. âIt was always in the back of my mind that I should study. I couldnât let go.â
But no more. âI want to make plans.â Friedman, 35, says. âSo, Iâve decided to get on with my life. If we want to have a family, weâre going to have a family. If I donât pass this time, I wonât take it again in February.â
She pauses long enough to shift positions. âIâll wait. Till next July.â
Like everyone else who took the latest exam, Friedman is anxiously awaiting the results. Rituals develop for getting the news. Galen, for instance, always rushes to the post office at 8 a.m. because he canât wait till his mail is delivered in the afternoon. âI gotta know,â he says.
Galen will be at the post office Friday morning.
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