Handling Stress Before the Bar Exam: One Person’s Journey

Handling stress before the barThis week we welcome Bar Exam Toolbox bar tutor, Sara O’Connor, to discuss some tips for managing stress before the bar exam.

If this article tempted your fancy, you’re feeling stressed about your upcoming bar exam. And, to be clear, “stressed” might be too soft of a word. You might be feeling things you’ve never felt before, like experiencing physical manifestations of your stress (such as a twitching eye, a cramping stomach, or a fun, new nervous tick). Whether you are feeling a mild-but-nagging concern or near-overwhelming anxiety, you’re in great company! Law students across the nation and the world (hello to you foreign lawyers joining our legal system) feel your pain to some degree during bar prep. In fact, even lawyers who have practiced for years in their home jurisdiction experience some level of stress if their future career prospects depend on them passing the bar in a new jurisdiction.

This article pulls back the curtain into my own experience with my two main causes of stress and the steps I took to combat them when I prepared for the bar. The purpose is twofold: (1) to show you through specific examples that your feelings are normal and (2) there are ways for you to deal with your stress in healthy, positive ways.

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The Types of Professors You’ll Encounter in Law School

The Types of Professors You’ll Encounter in Law SchoolPlease welcome back Jaclyn Wishnia, 2L guest writer from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She discusses the different types of professors you will inevitably meet in law school.

Society has assigned a stereotype for the majority of industries within the workforce. For example, the legal profession is considered notorious for breeding individuals who run the gamut of pejorative adjectives: aggressive, conniving, snobby, conceited, serious, boring, etc. Hopefully, most of you are striving to discredit these labels for our industry. Those inside the profession, however, understand that different types of law are better suited for individualized personalities. For instance, someone who enjoys dynamic discourse, public speaking, and writing briefs is more likely to be found working at a litigation firm, than a person who cares deeply about solving environmental issues, likes writing policy as opposed to briefs, and rather educate others about the relevant laws, and consequently, will instead probably be found working for a governmental agency, such as the EPA.

Since many law professors practice law before they teach, and often teach the subject they have already practiced in, it follows that their personalities will resemble those associated with their chosen legal sphere. Thus, certain characteristics will transfer from the workforce into the classroom, which is why there are specific archetypes of professors that every law student will recognize; predominantly identifiable in 1L courses.

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The Case Against Dating in Law School: 5 Antagonistic Arguments

The Case Against Dating in Law School: 5 Antagonistic ArgumentsPlease welcome back Jaclyn Wishnia, our now 2L guest writer from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She discusses the counterpoint to her previous dating post, and offers reasons why you may want to hold off on dating in law school.

When it comes to law school, the topic of dating often conjures up cringe-worthy images such as potentially facing a loath some ex as your future adversary; or becomes associated with words like, unprofessional. Despite the unsavory connections that dating in law school brings to mind, law students, no strangers to a challenge, dismiss these notions and forge ahead confidently assuming their relationship will be an outlier or that maybe their relationship is the stress reliever they deserve. While the chances are slim for accidentally running into your ex as opposing counsel in court (only a small portion of cases result in court per year), there are much stronger reasons available that build a case for why it might not be the best idea to date someone in law school. [Read more…]

Law School Deans, You Are the Problem

Look in the mirror!If you haven’t read it yet, take a few minutes to digest Law School is Worth the Money, written by the entirely non-self-interested dean of Case Western Reserve University’s law school. After you stop hyperventilating, please come back…

Okay, so where were we? Right. I don’t know about you, but I was silently yelling, “WTF?!? Are you kidding me?” and trying not to stab my eyes out.

Where to start? I’m tempted to go line-by-line, because basically every single sentence deserves a response (seriously, if this is the sort of unsupported argument they’re teaching at Case Western, God help us), but let’s just focus on the high points. (Most of which I’ve already covered in detail here: Law School Myths, Debunked.)

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Please, I Beg You, Get a Website!

Get a Website!Okay, if you’re a solo practitioner, or really any kind of hire-able lawyer who doesn’t currently have at least a basic website — please, I beg you, GET ONE. How in the world am I supposed to refer you business otherwise?

Do you seriously think my friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend, who’s called me in tears because of this, that, or the other really bad thing that just happened, is going to pick up the phone and call you tomorrow morning, with only a non-maintained Avvo profile to go on?

News flash — it’s not going to happen.

How do I know this?

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