An insight into what goes around in bar blogs, information, exam preparations and more

<<And Now the Bar, a blog on blogspot.com, follows Lepposte, a Penn Law graduate, and his friends on their quest to prepare for and pass the bar exam. The bloggers take readers on quite an entertaining journey through theoretical study approaches, BAR/BRI first impressions, study habits, snacking habits, and general worries and concerns.

"I am now a law school graduate. What does that mean?" Lepposte wrote. "It may mean that I am a lawyer, but I am not sure. It's up for debate. Some say I am because I have a law degree, and others say I am not because I am not licensed to practice. My take? I am a doctor (J.D. of course). A lawyer is a professional, and until I start at the firm, I am no lawyer…. It does mean that I have to study for the bar. And that's why I have this blog. To chronicle my studying for the bar. I will give my take on BAR/BRI, PMBR, my classmates, my study habits, and eventually my results (unless I fail)."


In the blog, Three Years of Hell to Become the Devil (TYoH), Anthony Rickey, a recent Columbia Law School graduate, is also chronicling what he describes as "the last in a series of hoops to jump through in order to get that precious 'Esq.'"

However, Rickey's blog has been around longer than Lepposte's and thus offers a real treasure trove of stories on law school life. Readers can learn about his summer adventures (in Japan, Hong Kong, and London), classroom experiences (on just about any subject in law school, including torts, criminal law, and Japanese law), dorm life, law school life, and life in general.

Setting tales of love, life, and law against the background of a vibrant New York, Rickey delivers tried-and-true advice in a way that jumps between poignancy and hilarity.

After having a conversation with someone about dating while in law school, he wrote that "finding someone understanding of a 1L's schedule, who can put up with the fact that you're available only at odd hours and that your one instant topic of conversation regards your workload, is a circumstance of tender mercy. If she knows how to cook brilliant halibut cooked with saffron, yogurt, and shallots, all the better. But during this madcap silly season, having someone to share with is really the crowning glory."

After experiencing some major frustration during the third week of BAR/BRI, he wrote, "My clients would be better served if I were to start work tomorrow and thus be mentored by accomplished lawyers actually doing some law. After all, they wouldn't have to pay hourly rates that support my salary payments that then pay off my bar loan."

One minute, he's waxing poetic; the next, he's telling it like it is.

Whether he's writing about lightning storms or repetitive professors, Rickey is a real wizard with words; and TYoH is perfect not only for law students looking for advice, but also for anybody who's simply curious about what life is like through someone else's eyes.

Then, there are the blogs about the disappointment of failing the bar and the hope and frustration that comes with preparing to retake it.

In go west, young (wo)man!, a girl going by the name of Californienne blogs about her preparation for and flunking of two tries at the California bar exam, arguably the most difficult one of them all.

"I'm frustrated. All I feel is frustration," she wrote in December 2005 just as she was embarking on her second round of studying. "The first time, that BAR/BRI 'general approach' was supposed to 'generally' work for everyone. It didn't work for me. So now, I need a new approach. I've been experimenting, trying to decide what works for me. I'm afraid that because I'm not associating myself with a program this time around, I'm personally writing my own ticket to failure. But the truth is, it's my own mentality that's holding me back."

After numerous entries about studying, not studying, sleeping, not sleeping, stressing, and not stressing, Californienne announced to her readers on May 22, 2006, that she had failed the exam a second time.

"For someone who didn't care whether or not she passed this exam, I haven't quite processed the news as diplomatically as I'd hoped. I suppose being told you can't do something is a harder and more jagged pill to swallow than when you are able to do something and choose not to do it," she wrote.

Maybe you're about to have your first go at the dreaded bar exam. Maybe you're bucking yourself up for round two. Who knows, maybe you're just one of those nosy people who like to read blogs. In any case, becoming a reader of these law student blogs and others like them is a great way to get advice, give encouragement, and ask questions you might not be able to ask anyone else. It also makes you feel like part of a global community of law students just like yourself, who are all going through the same things; and that, in itself, is a pretty cool feeling.

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