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Taking Two Bar Exams

By Andrew Sinclair (Last updated 10/19/2004.)

I found out today that I passed the New York bar exam! Since I was successful in passing two bar exams at once (the other was Massachusetts), I thought I'd take a few minutes here to offer some advice to future JDs who may be thinking about this option. At the end of the article is a link to a discussion thread where you can voice your own opinion or ask questions.

Introduction

First let me say that I'm surprised at how little information my school provided on subject of bar exams. For some reason, bar exam announcements were handled through the registrar's office at my school, but I think taking a bar exam is clearly part of career development. If the career development office wants to keep that title, they should give information regarding career development, not just employment information. (I actually think that law schools should require a short, no-credit, class on the practical issues encountered by new attorneys, but enough of my complaining…)

Taking two bar exams is a great idea for anyone considering working in two states or wishing to keep future employment options open. I'm sure there are some firms that actually prefer that their attorneys be admitted in multiple states, and I doubt a reasonable firm would ever consider multiple admissions to be a bad thing (still talking about bar admissions, not testimonial "admissions against interest"). The big advantage of taking two bar exams at once is future flexibility.

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