August 2004

Tales From the New York Bar Exam
by The Question

At the end of July this year, hundreds of students sat in convention halls throughout the country and took the bar exam.  If there is one thing this country needs, it is obviously hundreds of more lawyers.  I was one of those hundreds, and my story comes from a humble town some know as New Amsterdam.  Here is what I have learned.

The New York Bar Exam is a challenging one.  Over two consecutive days, applicants for the Bar must sit a total of twelve hours: six hours for New York Law, and six hours for what they call "multi-state" law.  Multi-state law is really just the set of rules everyone would have if we didn't have legislatures to make the rules.  That is, multi-state law is not the law of any state, much less the law of multi-states.  A score of 66% or better is required to pass.

To prepare for the Bar, most applicants take a “Bar review” course.  These courses lecture every day for 3-5 hours over a span of two months on every imaginable topic: criminal law, wills, corporations, contracts, family law, and torts. 

Let’s think about that for a moment.  In order to become a lawyer in New York, you are required to know New York law, and the imaginary common law of all the states.  You have a total of 12 hours to answer 250 multiple-choice questions and write six essays on any subject the examiners' choice.  You are prepared to take this test by lectures and home study, entailing at least 5 hours a day for two months.

SO WHY IS IT THAT ANYTIME YOU ASK A LAWYER THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, HE TELLS YOU THAT HE MUST RESEARCH THE ISSUE, AND BILL YOU 1,000 BUCKS JUST TO TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE?