Failed the Cal bar for the 3rd time. Heavily considering taking a UBE State exam in September and trying again for California in February. I’m really concerned that it’s been 2 years since I’ve been out of Law School without a law license and would rather have A license while attempting to pass California bar than no license.

Also does it look bad getting a license from a state you don’t plan to practice? I would take NY or DC but they have priority registration that I do not qualify for.

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I failed the CO bar exam in 1994. Moved to CA and finally took that exam twice before I passed it in 2013 - 20 years after I graduated from law school in Colorado. Don’t worry about looking bad. Just don’t give up. I don’t regret my hiatus of 20 years because I gained a lot of practical experience. But I honestly think if I would have kept trying I would have passed the bar on another try. It’s not a matter of if you’ll pass this bar exam- it’s when. If you want to be a lawyer and practice here, don’t give up on the CA exam. That will be the attitude and fortitude that will get you through some tough days as an attorney.

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I get that. I was going through a divorce the second time I took the CA exam. My kids were 9 and 12. I was working full time. I know what the costs were. But I had to make a better life for me and my kids. I love being an attorney and helping people. I also help my students with bar review at no cost. We can look at the reasons why someone can’t succeed or we can pay it forward.

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I took Texas despite not planning on living there—because I failed CA the first time and then while waiting for Feb results had this same worry about just wanting to be licensed and there was a registration deadline before results came out. I ended up passing CA and chose to still take the Texas bar (and passed, it was way easier than CA) and it never even came up that I didn’t live there and didn’t plan to work there. But I went to a southern law school so maybe that’s why. Additionally my friend who failed CA with me the first time took NY in the February after and passed and then did her clerkship and 2 years later came back and passed CA. So you aren’t alone, many people have done this. However I will say that given the chaos of this now September bar exam, this might be the easiest time to take the CA bar. There is talk about the exam being online instead of in person and there is more time to study and to learn how to study the right way for you.

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If your endgame is practicing in CA, it might be a good idea to take NV. Plenty of CA firms have Vegas offices. Ours is notoriously hard to staff for some reason, so they subsidized a bunch of CA attorneys to get licensed out there to help out. I would think you could bring value to similar situations with a NV license and CA bar numbers in progress? Just spitballing here...

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I agree with this advice. Our firm also subsidized one of your younger associates to take the NV bar. He just passed it a year after passing the CA bar. It adds value in CA for sure. We do PI.

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I took the CA bar four times. The main reason I kept failing was that I couldn’t afford not to work. I have many responsibilities. I was exhausted. I finally decided to not work and be selfish for myself and I passed. I also had an employee who kindly fired me so I can collect unemployment. (Helped so much) keep going it’s possible but also identifying what’s holding you back from passing is something you need to answer.

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I would take the UBE since it’s easier, but the bigger question is if you can find a job and what kind of work you want to do. Ultimately, isn’t that the point of getting a license? Have been working in the last 2 years? I don’t do hiring for our firm, but I don’t know how 2 years without legal work/trying to pass the bar would look to them.

I don’t want to dampen your spirit, just pointing out a few realistic issues, especially in today’s climate. Multiple bar attempts and are generally red flags when you’re trying to find a legal job, but that’s just from what I’ve seen.

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I got a job after law school working in-house so having a law license is not so dire here but I want to move to a firm soon and I know a license is required for that move.

I am entering into a partnership in my firm. I look for people who have failed and come back. They aren’t afraid of going into court. They don’t give up. And they don’t sell low. Those of you who failed the bar and came back and took it again until you passed will get an interview with me.

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Also my MBE scores for California meets DC’s pass score and can be transferred. However, I won’t know if I can register for the DC bar until the end of the month after priority registration is over.

But there’s a catch, if I transfer my mbe score to DC and pass the writing portion of the exam I will not be able to waive into any other UBE state because I did not take the entire UBE exam for DC.

Stick with it. Taking it in other states won’t do you any good if you want to practice in CA. You have the benefit of time by being in house. Take advantage of it. You’ll pass eventually and this will all be in the rear view mirror soon enough. But if it were me I wouldn’t tell my in house job that I’m taking it again.

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